I am an atheist, but I don't understand how atheists can believe in morality and good and bad. Can anyone pl..

Question

...please explain this to me, because surely, as an atheist, you desire proof? So how can you ever believe in good and bad? How can you ever conclude that good and bad are anything more than mere opinion?

Bareing that in mind, how can you believe in any sort of morality whatsoever?

(I apologise for any spelling mistakes.)

I am also aware of the fact that this should be posted in the law and morality section, but I know that a lot of you hang out in R&S, so I though I'd post it here.

I believe morality is basically designed to restrain man.

I guess I am a kind of nihilist (look it up). No action can be deemed more or less morally acceptable than any other action.

Letting society define your morals?

Wouldn't that make you a mindless sheep?

Answer 1

Morality is a social construct. Please, take a sociology class.

You were raised by your parents to be moral. So was I. Morality changes as society changes and the needs of the individuals in society change.

As for good v. bad, I don't see things in black and white. I see circumstances and perception. I see consequences. I see having the best interest of others at heart, which as a society allows us to grow and benefits the individual in the long run.

God has nothing to do with morality. Morality in religions is incapable of change, it stagnates and kills a society. If we went to Biblical morality, we'd be stoning half the population.

Answer 2

You are correct. Any moral standard you attempt to establish in the absence of an external personal being that is able to assign absolute values will be arbitrary. Some may attempt to invoke reason but reason is a METHOD, it cannot assign moral imperatives, all it does is take you from premises that have been established by some source other than reason, to the logical conclusion of those premises. You cannot logically demonstrate a premise because a premise is just that ,A PREMISE. The welfare of society? why should i care about that? Why should i not pursue my own pleasure. What reason could I have for pereferring the lives of "the many" over my own life and pleasure? It is possible for people to prosper without putting society first so why shouldn't they? The alternative would not be anarchy, how often have men even actually lived in complete anarchy? In a "might makes right" world there is stability when one group seizes power and that is only bad if you are not in with that group. If this makes you feel insecure then it is because you do not have confidence in your ability to secure a place for yourself. Your interest is selfish (and even if it were not, it would stilll have no demonstrated rational basis) just as the interest of the one who strives for power, and the strongest would win. On the basis of what could this be undwerstood as wrong.? This is a really good question my friend. Some atheists like to hew down the tree of theism and then still try to rest in it's moral shade. It is terribly inconsistent especially for people that like to go on about "reason" so much and I am glad to see that you are a person that puts intellectual consistency and integrity above all else. By the way ,people like Taewen (one of the answers) mystify me. She says we were reared to be moral and that we do not need recourse to religious morality. The morality that she was taught was passed down from earlier generations out of religious tradition!

Oh and Arom, the abolitionist movement (anti-slavery) began in churches with pastors that used scripture to refute it. Furthermore I see no new testament exhortation to genocide. Stoning? read the New testament and the story of the woman caught in adultery. Popular morality does come from religion.

Answer 3

Morality is derived from real life experiences. The great thing about Atheists, is that we think for ourselves. Good and bad are just words... having a conscience and a free thinking mind then you know what is nice or not so nice. Unless you're a sociopath, that's the exception.
Rather than being a mindless religious robot, you are your own person... do what you want.
The bible can help give you an outline for your life. I have one, and I read it often... I also read Stephen King Novels... both are fiction.

Answer 4

Considering an atheist's morality would be tied directly to empathy for his/her fellow man rather than based on the teachings of a egocentric deity I'd say yes, moreso than a typical theist.

Answer 5

in my opinion atheists just don't believe in god. and that has nothing to do with good and bad. personally, (i'm agnostic, which agnostics are usually the ones looking for proof) i believe good and bad is determined by society and how you've grown up. there are certain things here that we see as bad, whereas in other countries they're good. and vice versa. i like to just go by my own personal morals and ideas of what's good and bad, some based on how i grew up and society, others by what i've learned from life and my own opinions.

but yeah, i think, when it comes right down to it, bad and good are opinions. morality.... that's just what YOU feel is good and bad. sociopaths don't have a conscience, so they don't have morals. that's why they can kill and it not mean a thing to them.

hope i helped in any way

Answer 6

This is a question.

Anarchy is a lousy form of government.

Modern societies are based (primarily) in the rule of law. Laws are based on logic and reasoned thought (or are at least supposed to be). The base for this process is, the greatest good for the greatest number.

Good: Any process or action that benefits society
Bad: Any process or action that harms society

The opinion of society determines 'good' and 'bad'. Take a look at some of the old laws that are still on the books. Texas is a great example. You can beat your wife, but only if you do it on the courthouse steps. Some Muslim states are another great example: It is still a stoning offense to be an adulterer.

Morality is a bit trickier. The individual must determine for themselves what makes 'good' and 'bad'.

For me:
Honor, Duty, Loyalty, Courage: As long as I personally hold to these requirements, I'm living a good life.

Answer 7

You can and should argue morality from "first principles." Why should we be "good"? How should we define "good"? It seems to me that it's a practical question of human social behavior, and there's no point in dragging "God" into it.

We see what happens when we do. The theist says "I should be good because God wants me to be," or, more properly, "because I want to go to Heaven." "Good" then is defined by an external "authority," the Church, as "the way to act if you want this carrot we're dangling in front of you."

None of this has anything to do with "morality." It's superstition and selfishness.

Anyway, if a person really has to read "Thou shalt not kill" in a book, in order to understand why indiscriminate killing is "bad," we probably ought to lock him up now.

Answer 8

I'm sure there someone in this section that could give you a better answer than I, but I don't see how morals have anything to with religion/god.
Good and bad is something you can observe: If someone kills someone in cold-blood, they're obviously immoral; what does religion/god have to do with any of it?
I believe in morality because I know how I want to be treated, so that's how I treat others.

Answer 9

morality is for the most part learned human behaviour, but it is innate to develop a sense of caring for other members of your species, just as with any other animal that feels the need to protect members of its group. humans are social creatures. they inherently feel the urge to protect other humans to some degree, and thus morality is simply an evolved form of this instinct. we see that some action causes other humans to become unhappy in some way, and that kicks in the instinctual urge to recognize this action as a 'no-no' later on. being as intelligent and socially developed a species as we are, humans have taken this protecting/nurturing instinct based on survival of the species and set rules for it and called it morality. the only reason we are the sole species practicing this idea is because we are the only ones capable of taking a single urge and developing it so far. it is the same way with technology--we are given the instinctual urge to problem-solve, thus we continue developing on that urge until eventually we are inventing things never dreamed of by our ancestors who grew up during a less psychologically developed era.

Answer 10

There is no such thing as absolute good or bad. It's relative. But since we are biologically programmed as social animals, most of us have an innate sense of fair play.

Ethics are nothing more than a set of rules designed to keep you out of trouble. Keep in mind that even if there is no invisible judge watching everything, we are still held accountable by other humans.