Athiest,what is your justification for having any kind of morality?

Question

If there's no utimate authority to answer to,noone has more authority than anyone else&as many claim that we are just more advanced animals;then what justifies having morals or the need for morality?Animals in the wild kill,steal&cheat all the time&dont feel bad about it;so no form of morality is needed for them becuase that's the way their world works.Now humans on the other hand do feel bad when we do that stuff;why?If we are only animals then technically we should be able to steal,kill,cheat do any and all evil,wicked&abominable works under the sun and not feel bad about it¬ give a dam what other people think becuase nobody has authority over anybody.
Again what's the justification for morality when animals dont care weather they do evil or good becuase both are equally as valid&OK?

Answer 1

As an atheist I do not believe in a set moral code by which people must live there lives. People are completely free to choose, morals are entirely subjective. Many choose to follow the "morals" others have chosen before them.

Answer 2

As a species we're social. We need each other to survive, so I think there's an instinctual resistence to things that would cause anarchy. I don't think it's a coincidence that the 10 commandments are basic rules like "don't steal," "don't kill," etc. that keep a community stable. I believe these rules were created by men though attributed to God, and that they make sense. Early civilizations didn't live in total anarchy until the Bible was written.

Then there's the fact that we have intellect. We're not animals and if we don't have to kill each other to survive, we won't do it. Where I part ways with religious people is this belief that people are fundamentally evil and must work very hard to be good. I believe people are fundamentally good and if given the chance, will be kind to each other because it makes life more enjoyable for all of us.

I am not so impressed by people who want everyone to live in fear of hell, just for existing. Babies are baptised to get rid of original sin--as if an innocent baby has anything to be sorry for. There would be fewer therapists buying second homes if we could let go of the guilt.

Answer 3

There is nothing divine about morality; it is a purely human affair.If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. What the individual can do is to give a fine example, and to have the courage to uphold ethical values .. in a society of cynics.
(Albert Einstein)

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism. (Albert Einstein)

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, "Religion and Science", New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930

Answer 4

Animals kill and "steal" from other animals because their lives depend on it. There was a point in human history where we were just as primitive and the stronger ones were the ones who had the power and the weaker ones perished.

Being that we have an evolved consciousness and most of us are past the primitive behavior of our more animal-like ancestors we have learned that these things are wrong. I'm not talking about people teaching us that these things are wrong, I am talking about us learning for ourselves by the way we feel after doing certain things. When you help someone cross the street, or you give money to someone who needs it more than you do..... you feel good inside. There are people who also feel good when doing things that harm others... but our evolved consciousness knows it is wrong because there is no need for primitive behavior anymore. We have a much more evolved sensitibility than the rest of the animals on this planet. If you can't grasp that idea then perhaps you are on of those who has yet to break out of your cocoon of ignorance and try to learn something instead of asking stupid questions in an attempt to make yourself seem like the smartest and most original person on Y!A.

Answer 5

Its simple, our emotions and reason are responsible for it. We use our own feelings and interests as well as those that represent the "stereotypical" person and reason a set of rules for behaviour from these things. We are able to see that individual have no logical basis for pushing their interests and desires over others, due to the equal worth of the conscious in the objective world. So far we can only rationalize what generic humans want and make exceptions for specific humans interests.

Real ethical debate stems from situations in which two competing desires are pitted against one another and people must rationalize which person is more thoroughly violated by commiting said action (for example, euthanasia).

By the way, using ultimate authoritys for morality is a fairly poor standard, given that there are no good reasons to nominate anyone to be said authority.

Let's take the Christian god for example:

All powerful? Ethics become based on might makes right.

All knowing? This implies that ethics exist outside of the authoirty and can be found by the people. Why have an authority middle man? Why not just use the principles?

All loving? Taking this from several perspectives leads to problems. Taking love as "ethics" only leads to question begging. Taking love as the standard itself doesn't give appreciation to the ethical standards everyone holds. Justice is just as important as being loving and basing ethics on love alone does not describe the ethics anyone (including yourself) folows.

Answer 6

Morality doesn't just come from the Judeo-Christian view of God. Moral behavior is present in Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Animist communities.

Plus, I don't steal from my friends because I care about their welfare. I don't lie to them because I want them to trust me. And I don't kill them because I like them.

While I do find some of my morality in scripture (not judging others, not being violent, forgiving and hoping for forgiveness) that tends to be the big stuff. The little stuff (how to live with others, near others and among others) I'vebeen guided by lots of other things.

Answer 7

Most of us feel the need to conform to the norms of society. And are indeed taught right and wrong at an early age. I was taught right and wrong by my christian parents. My son has been taught right and wrong by his set of atheist parents. So far my son's record of good behavior out-shines mine. He is also a very kind and generous person that any religious group would be glad to claim as a product of their dogma. Religion has little to do with it, in my opinion. It's aquired social behavior, and some people do terrible crimes and don't feel bad about it. Even ones claiming to be christians.

Answer 8

You can be as nasty as you want. I remember what it was like growing up in a Baptist church. That aside, you will find yourself in a mess of trouble if you go around screwing people. Eventually you’ll mess with the wrong person and the chickens will come home to roost.

Why am I moral? I have found that the greater my integrity the more I am trusted, respected and liked. See, selfishness is a virtue!

Answer 9

I don't need a sky daddy telling me what is right and wrong, and I also don't need the threat of hell to keep me moral, as some obviously do. I'm moral because I have to look myself in the mirror every morning.

Remember, if you're only moral to impress your god, then you're not really moral, you're just a suck up.

Answer 10

Because I humans are social animals and in order to have a functioning civilization you have to have some form of morality. All morality comes from empathy.