What is the foundation of ethics for an atheist?

Answer 1

Atheists won't like this answer, but it goes back to religion. The foundation of the atheist's ethics lies in society. The society they live in dictates actions in various circumstances. It is the society that is the fabric of their being.

So let's look at where society's ethics are formed. In almost every society (notice, I did not say all), religion is the foundation of ethics. Say what you will about the US society and its origins, but it cannot reasonably be denied that it is a Judeo-Christian society.

Not all religious society's are the same, or even close for that matter. But I submit that an atheist is the US has a different set of ethics than the atheist in Iran, who has a different set than the atheist in China.

Therefore, an atheist's ethics are in large part founded upon the society in which he/she lives. The society's is usually founded upon religion, ergo the atheist's is founded upon religion.

Answer 2

The foundation of ethics for an atheist: I cannot answer this question for all atheists because the foundation of ethics for each individual is different. I am atheist and I can, however, tell you the foundation of my ethics.

The very foundation of my ethics mostly comes from (or originated from) my parents. I believe this is where everyones idea of ethics begin whether they are a believer or non-believer. You are taught right and wrong by your parents long before you have a concept of religion. Also, I believe that everyone is born with a conscience - a sense of distinguishing right and wrong.

Growing older, my ethics stem from my compassion towards other people. I care about the well being of others, therefor I do not wish to cause them harm. I do not need a Bible, Koran, Torah, or any other religious teaching to want to treat others with compassion. I do not have to be afraid of punishment to do the right thing. I am able to by sympathetic and empathetic to other people's situations because I can relate to them and understand them. As human beings, we feel the need for other human companionship just as most mammals feel the need for some sort of companionship - that's nature. We inately know how to treat others if we wish to be surrounded by people who care about us. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" as they say. These are really only a couple examples of what guides my morals and ethics as an atheist. I guess to sum it up in one word, the foundation of ethics and morals for me is emotion.

Answer 3

This is a profound question and beyond possibility of answer on Y!A.

Strictly speaking, there is no foundation. Or at least none has been determined so far. I haven’t read Shermer’s book so maybe I’m out of date, but there are philosophical problems with all known natural ethics, common sense and other answers offered above. The problem of the future is acting on ethics, epistemology and aesthetics without foundation.

Answer 4

Intellectual
Most atheists would offer some of the arguments on the following pages as their reason for deciding that God doesn't exist

Non-Intellectual
Many people are atheists not because they've reasoned things out like that, but because of the way they were brought up or educated, or because they have simply adopted the beliefs of the culture in which they grew up. It's the same for many believers. So someone raised in Communist China is likely to have no belief in God, because they rarely if ever, meet a believer, and because the education system and pressure from the people they meet make being an atheist the natural thing to do.Other people are atheists because they just feel that atheism is right. In the same way, many people of faith hold their beliefs because they just seem right to them.

Answer 5

The foundation of or for ethics in the person of an atheist is the same as it for anyone else, and, in my opinion, deals with two general issues primarily:

1. power
2. care

At bottom, negotiating what a person can do and what a person should do; how is it that we care for ourselves and each other, if man himself is solely responsible for his fate on Earth.

I would suggest a book: "The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics" by Robert Aiken. I would also suggest that Buddist ethics demonstrate the pinnacle of an "atheistic" ethic.

Answer 6

To an atheist, everything is about perception
God is however you perceive God
Satan is however you perceive him/her - again, a matter of perception

So, ethics are a matter of perception

You can ask three people if smoking grass is wrong - if one of them has glucoma, it is most likely okay - perception

If one of them smokes it 5 days a week, 15 hours a day, and sits on the couch and watches Ren and Stempy reruns all day long, perhaps they could have a problem

Atheists are all about perception - not historical documentaries, which have been altered and changed to flow with the times.

Answer 7

According to the philosophy of David Hume people are born with a sense of right and wrong. Thus we can be ethical and even moral without being religious.

Most theologians will probably disagree with that though.

Answer 8

There is no universal foundation. Every one lives according to the mores of their culture, religious or nonreligious. It was within the bounds of ethics for the religious Mayans to sacrifice humans to their gods as well as the Hebrews.

Answer 9

choosing the highest objective value that ethics support.
I choose, as the founing fathers did, the individual life, no other life can be ethically sacrificed for another. I dare you to come up with a better ethical system than the one that produces.

Answer 10

Conscience. Personal honor. Personal responsibility.

Consider this. If a 'good' act is performed simply because a book or theology has stated that it is good, or because the alternative to the good act is punishment of some kind, then the act is NOT in fact a good, selfless act. It is merely self-interest.

The only TRULY good act is one that is peformed for NO reason other than that the person performing the act believes it to be good. No reward promised, no punishment threatened, just good for it's own sake.