What's the point of morals?

Question

I've always wondered that. Some people say we're just a set of chemical reactions. So what's the point of morals then?


If you just believe in the physical, then you'd have no reason not to fulfill any physical desires. So why do people hold themselves back?


Why can't we do incest? Why can't we have orgies whenever?


No, I'm not calling anyone who doesn't believe in a soul immoral, I'm just wondering why they'd want to have mental blocks in their brain that prevent them from having every physical pleasure they can before they die.



We are animals, and we have animal instincts, and we know that, we can gauge, and check our emotions, so that makes us self aware and we should able to rise above them. So why can't we?


I've just never understood that.


and people, answer the question. don't say "Is the only reason you have morals, is because you believe in god?" because that's dodging the question.


and don't call me sick either, i don't believe in any of this.

I just want your opinions.

I just want your opinions.

Paul S: I'm not jumping to conclusions, I'm stating common sense.


Why would you work to fulfill something that doesn't exist?

Answer 1

"If you just believe in the physical, then you'd have no reason not to fulfill any physical desires."

Why not?

You're jumping to conclusions here.
================
"Paul S: I'm not jumping to conclusions, I'm stating common sense. Why would you work to fulfill something that doesn't exist?"

Fulfill what?

You're jumping to conclusions. You've uncritically accepted the rather shallow religious version of morality, and refused to consider even the possibility that there could be more well-grounded alternatives.

Answer 2

Are you kidding me Eleventy? All social animals have instinctive morality? That is beyond ludicrous.

So when an intruder enters an ant colony, the ant's (a social animal) only instinctive reaction is to attack and kill it. Where's the morality in that? If someone cuts me off in traffic, why can't I just kill him? That's what sets us apart from the animals--our morality.

If you believe that you're nothing but a cosmic accident and millions of years worth of random mutations, then you really are no different than an animal and should be behaving just like one.

If you believe that, then we should be living under total anarchy, doing whatever we want, whether it be killing, stealing, raping or incest and not worrying that our actions have consequences.

Answer 3

Humans are the only animals on this planet that have a conscience. We feel bad when we do bad things. I was watching an interview with the "Iceman" a long time ruthless paid contract killer for the mod. Even he shed a tear not for those he killed but for what he had done to his family and the families of those he killed. So he also had a conscience. The question we have to ask is where did that conscience come from. It is definitely not just some random chemical reaction.

Answer 4

Well, if you believe that we are merely physical beings,
then your sense of and purpose for morality will be different than those who think otherwise. The reason for morality will simply be to make the physical life as good as possible for
children, grandchildren, yourself, mankind, etc.
The deviation occurs mainly in the area of pro-life.
If you think life is only physical, then the quality of life and
the usefullness of a person tends to take priority over
personhood in and of itself (as spiritual beings with a
soul and every life having a plan and a value in God)!
A second deviation is in sexual morality. However,
this is misguided! Sexual morality is actually HELPFUL
to mankind! When sexuality is disciplined, it serves
humanity in the best way. This can only happen by
the help of faith since we tend to get out of control and
become selfish in this matter especially! We deify sex if we
don't deify the One worthy of being deified!
There are more implications as well, but these tend
to be the most obvious!
Short answer: we are too selfish naturally - our ways are
crooked and inconsistent - we need God.
Sure there is morality without God - the Bible even talks
about how we were created with morality printed
on our hearts - but we are fallen beings, so it is
not perfect.

Answer 5

I believe that the most basic answer to your question is that we evolved as social animals. In order to maintain a society--to keep the company you want in order to find and keep a mate and produce offspring that can produce offspring--we need a basic set of "rules" to live by. The incest taboo is one of the easiest of these to see under this kind of reason. If you have sex with your own offspring, any offspring from that union might not be able to continue to spread the genes around as well as if you were having sex with someone reasonably unrelated.
Our minds have become more complicated since the first hominids walked the earth, and each one seems to have evidence of a growth in self-awareness as something separate from "the wild." At this point we're cognitively developed enough (in general, I can't speak for some individuals) that we're trying to preserve our society and even our environment because it makes us relatively comfortable.

But rise above all that animality? That was around for millions of years longer than the human part, and we may never be able to get rid of it. I think it'll be around as long as we have the drive to eat and reproduce. The worst that we see in people is just a perversion of these drives that their flawed brains can't cope with.

On a completely metaphysical, non-scientific level, I do think that some people just don't get souls somewhere in the soul assignment process. Pair that with a low-functioning brain and strong animal drives and you get rapists, murderers, child abusers, and people like Hitler.

Answer 6

First of all, it's ridiculous to reduce all of human experience to a "set of chemical reactions." Just because we've discovered the physiological basis for certain psychic phenomena, that doesn't invalidate those phenomena on their own terms. "Compassion" may be the result of certain chemical changes in the brain; that doesn't mean there's no point in being compassionate.

As for why we "hold ourselves back" - you seem to believe that the desire to have "incestuous orgies" is the common property of every human being. Actually, I'd argue that most forms of sexual excess are a direct result of sexual repression - it's the instinct revolting violently against constraint. The "Christian" obsession with chastity actually breeds neuroses and perversions.

I'm willing to concede the point to the "hedonists" that the main goal of life, once the basic needs have been met, should be the pursuit of pleasure. Again, I disagree with the Christians, who transfer all the value of life off to some postulated "afterlife," in preparation for which they believe it necessary to forbid themselves pleasures in the here and now.

I believe that we should be in control of our emotions and passions, but we shouldn't mistake fear and aversion for "control." It's not a virtue to refuse to eat on "moral" grounds - so why should sexual chastity be a virtue in and of itself? Isn't it healthier just to satisfy the natural appetite, and get on with life?

But I've mainly just been talking about sex-morality. The larger question is the classic "Can you still have morals if you don't believe in God or the soul?" Of course, I don't see what the one thing has to do with the other. "Religious" people seem to think that there's no point in being "good" without the promise of heaven and the threat of hell to keep them in line. This has nothing at all to do with morality. It's sheer superstition and selfishness. Morality ought to be argued from first principles - why should you not indiscriminately kill everybody you see? Well, there are a lot of purely pragmatic reasons not to do so, all having to do with the basic fact that we are societies, and our individual welfare is bound up with the general welfare. If I murder somebody, I've violated the agreement and forfeited my own right to live in society. This is all very basic caveman stuff; it's only confusing to a mind clouded by religious ideas.

Answer 7

This is the great weakness in the argument for non-religious / evolutionists. Like you said, why are lions allowed to kill lion cubs but that is not murder? If the species benefit from survival of the fittest, then why punish Hitler for trying to spread his own type? Somebody one wrote online Hitler was the greatest believer of "survival of the fittest theory." Why do we punish bigamist? Isn't that just a person trying to spread his genes? doesn't that happen in other species all the time?

Why have so many morals (laws or rules) when we KNOW that God does NOT exist and we are just advanced animals?

WHY!

Good Luck.

P.S. The post just above said "we NEED set of rule..." But that is the basic question "WHY" do we need rules (morals) when no other social animals need these rules? Chimps are highly social animals but they have been known to often kill each other. Dolphins are very highly social animals but have know to kill one another (even torment each other). The idea of morals are so ingrained that the poster doesn't even realize he / she is using circular logic. All other animals do what ever that comes natrually to them. Why not the man?

Why do we feel the need to "love one another"?

P.P.S. The post (2 above) say that children need rules. Again WHY when animals seems to fine without them. Maybe we should let the children do what comes naturally and let the strongest rule and let the weak die off. After all the theory is that is good for the species. Why are we supporting the weak in this species?

P.P.P.S. WOW it is amazing how people don't get this question. People above are saying the society without rules (or morals) will be in caos. NO why do we call it that. It is just the strong asserting itself - in the animal kingdom.

It is obvious that nobody here read "Lord of the Flies".

Common! We all belief in the "survival of the fittest" so let's get rid of the morality rules! Let people dominate all they want! Let men spread their genes all they want. The theory is that it is GOOD for our species!

Answer 8

I don't know if you've ever had children, but small children are in fact slaves to their impulses and don't hold back on their own. In the beginning they have no reason not to do whatever strikes their fancy.

We have to teach them to control themselves and to hold back, because it's vital to getting along in the world. Morals and ethics and rules and discipline are indeed artificial, and trained into us, but without them we do not get along as a society. Yes people slip, and it's in a controlled, safe enviroment that's okay; slip in the wrong way and the results can be quite painful.

Morals help people get along in life, help us understand that when we cause pain to others there will be consequences. Making the world a better place means making the world a better place for everyone, including ourselves.

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.
--Tao Te Ching

Answer 9

We wouldn't have lasted very long as a species if we did all that stuff, now would we? Morals are coded into our brain chemistry for survival reasons. Other morals are behavioral in nature from the culture we exist in. As social animals, we have to behave for the good of ourselves much less everyone we associate with.

Answer 10

I will recommend you to read "The moral Animal" why we are the way we are by robert whight.
I think this will open a new plethora of ideas in you. All I can say is that morals are a way to maintain our "societies" together. But that doesnt mean that all societies are good.
Morals have a spectrum they are not black and white (like they tought you in church)
Read the book, we will talk when you have.