OK, Atheists do not believe in things there senses cannot classify. Where do they derive ethics and morals?

Question

I really am curious, social science?

Answer 1

I expect you'll see a lot of "you can't derive an ought from an is" statements. But, I'm going to walk away from that "philosophically safe zone" and talk about real life. This will also lead me necessarily away from the relativists that populate Atheism.

I have one basic choice that is irreducible to anything else: the choice to live, or the choice to die. The catch to it is that, if I'm going to live, I can only live as a human being. Keep this in mind.

To be a human isn't to be a strong, fast, or dangerous animal. We also dont grow claws or venom sacs. We succeeded in nature because of our rational faculties, which gives us unparalleled abilities to understand our environment. Coupled with the self-esteem necessary to make decisions to succeed in our environment, that is our primary tool.

Secondly, there are things, people, and states of being that are of value to me. By being I value, I mean that I would take the steps necessary to attain and maintain them. For example, I value my wife, so I take certain steps to keep her, such as being honest, faithful, kind, supportive, and so on, and so forth. I value my pets, so I feed them good foods, carefully watch their health, keep them in a safe environment, take them to the vet as need be, etc.

There are general principles to long-term maintainence of keeping values. The principles are called virtues. Values are what you strive for; virtues are how you attain them.

The following would be virtues:

1 - Rationality. This would be applying reason (as I mentioned above) to all areas of life. People can understand the world we live in; there's never a reason to assume something is truly incomprehensible, e.g., "The Colour Out of Space."

2 - Productivity. By this, I mean constantly working on keeping and/or maintaining your values. If you're doing something that isn't going to be good for them, you probably shouldn't be doing it. That's not to say you shouldn't ever relax, but you need to keep in mind why you do the things you do, and you should NEVER work against your own values.

3 - Independence. It's important to remember that you alone determine what you value, and to remember that you can think for yourself. That doesn't mean you don't accept input from others. But if nobody can explain how your decisions are wrong, you shouldn't cave in just because your viewpoint may be unpopular.

4 - Justice. Treat people as they deserve to be treated. Repay kindness with kindness, and be ready to defend yourself from those who would harm you. Never accept guilt that you haven't earned, and seek to make amends with those that you may harm.

5 - Honesty. Be honest with others, and be honest with yourself. A trustworthy person will have a network people who can help him attain and maintain his values. A deceitful person always has to find new victims, and is ultimately turning reality (which will always reveal the truth) into his enemy.

6 - Integrity. The consistent application of these principles. If virtues help you get, and keep, your values, then applying them consistently is going to help you gain and keep your values. It sounds so stupid, and yet, under pressure, real life circumstances can make this difficult.

7 - Benevolence. This goes along with honesty and justice very well. It's giving people initial kindness and a benefit of the doubt. By approaching people in an optimistic, friendly way, you're opening the door to peaceful, friendly exchanges in the future. Now, if somebody does something deplorable, justice must take precedence, but benevolence, as a guiding principle, will reign until you have the experience with a person to be able to apply the virtue of justice.

8 - Pride. This is the crowning virtue. By living a virtuous life, by taking what you earn and not taking what you don't (i.e., applying the virtue of justice to yourself), you find yourself attaining your values. The natural state of keeping all the things you love safe, while increasing their number and quality is *happiness.* Being proud of what you accomplished isn't a bad thing; it's being honest about who you are, it's about respecting the decision you've made, and it's about having the confidence to do so again in the future.

I know that's a lot, but that's the short version. My email is available for anybody wanting to talk further, or would like me to clarify any points.

Answer 2

-If one argues, as some deeply religious individuals do, that without God there can be no ultimate right and wrong - namely that God determines for us what is right and wrong - one can then ask the question: What is God decreed that rape and murder were morally acceptable ? Would that make them so ? While some might answer yes, I think most believers would say no, God would not make such a decree. But why not ? Presumably because God would have some *reason* for not making such a decree. Again, presumably this is because *reason* suggests that rape and murder are not morally acceptable. But if God would have to appeal to *reason*, then why not eliminate the middleman entirely ?- Lawrence Krauss, A Universe From Nothing, Pgs 171-172. Greece was entirely separate from any jeezus based religion, as Greece faded well before the time when zombie jeezus is supposed to have lived. Unless zombie jeezus was Dr. Who, Greece and it's philosophies were indeed quite separate from anything in Palestine circa 30 CE. Get a calendar, doofus.

Answer 3

Atheists choose to believe that there is no divinity based on the same faith that Religious people believe there is.
I believe they make this choice so they are not constrained by ethics and morals!

It's only the Agnostic that says they don't have enough information either way to form a belief, the logical approach!

The idiot says "God doesnt exist" And is F'ed if their wrong!
The Fanatic says "God does exist" Better safe then sorry!
The common sense person says" I dont know" Can make up their mind at any time.

Answer 4

It is usually a matter of observing that one does not live in a vacuum. No individual can accomplish much alone. Cooperation and compromise usually accomplish much more than simply acting on impulse or without regard to consequences for others. And that "Golden Rule" comes in very handy for making ethical decisions, without the need to drag "God" into the matter.

The primary difference between religious morality and secular ethics is that religionists rely on divine authority, a holy "say-so" without the need for understanding. An atheist's code has to to make sense and can be revised if it no longer appears to be accomplishing a social benefit.

Answer 5

Kindness, tolerance, understanding and respect for self & others; along with a healthy dose of common sense is the usual basis of atheistic 'morality'. A lot of 'religious morals' were in existence long before the religion came along & plagerised them.

It's a misconception that atheists don't had any sense of ethics or morality ... often it is of a 'higher standard' that those who proclaim to have religion on their side as atheists don't have 'a forgiving god' to use as a cop out.

Answer 6

ethics and morals are not real things they depend on the rules and laws of the culture people are brought up in.
Spartans used to leave babies on the hillside this was ethical and moral for them.
Aztecs used to kill people to make sure the sun rose again this at the time was ethical and moral.
grind the universe down to the finest powder sieve it through the finest mesh and you wont discover any morals or ethics.
it is a 'lie' that greases the wheels of society so people can live side by side

Answer 7

Well, we didn't need the flying donkey faced monkey people who live on the mountain top to fly down and show us the golden foil covered tablets of knowledge.

We leave that sort of nonsense to the religious types.

All morals and ethics are devised by man.

Unfortunately, dishonest men called Priests and Prophets and Televangelists claimed they had a special audience with supernatural beings and now it's all gone to hell because people are morons.

Answer 8

It really doesn't take a genius to figure out that making a person smile, brings a happy feeling. And hurting another person brings a bad feeling. It's really, truly easy and has nothing to do with science.

It's always funny when a religious person thinks his morals come from a Bible or a Quran. What will happen if God is disproven? They will randomly start shooting people, because their morals are gone?

My morals come from the same place where yours came from. Nature and nurture. Society and culture.

Answer 9

It's a good question, that has been answered many times. Firstly, Atheists aren't an organized group, so nobody can speak to where any particular atheist gets their morals. However some of our spokespeople (like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins) eloquently state that it comes from the value to cause no harm or suffering to others.

I don't believe that the only thing stopping theists from killing, raping and stealing is a fear of burning in hell for all eternity.

Answer 10

You're confusing atheism with essentialism.

Morals and ethics are derived from society in general, as well as an innate sense of "good and evil" possessed by most reasonable people.

Answer 11

Ethics and morals have nothing to do with religion.

It comes from just being the best person you can be and treating others wwith fairness and respect.