Do atheists fake egalitarianism?

[Pyrrho]

Don't kid yourself, this is just another 'if there's no god where do your morals come from? '

Yes.

[JesusHChrist]

We believe people should be treated equally because that's the best way for a society to all get along with each other. That's also why killing and thievery are pretty universal, whether a culture worships Yahweh/Jesus or not. We're a social species that needs ways to get along with each other, and equality is one of the best ways of accomplishing that. No gods required.

So you don't believe people are really equal, just that society operates more smoothly if we pretend they are?  It sounds like you are simply faking egalitarianism too me.

You'll have to define your terms. In what sense are people "equal"?

From casual observation, on many attributes, we can see that they are not equal - size, intelligence, people skills, earning potential, guitar shredding ability, criminal propensity and my personal failing: inability to draw a straight line or a convincing stick figure. Do we treat the pedophile and the non-pedophile the same? Do we pay the same amount to see Billy Bob, bar-band crooner as Justin Bieber? No! We do not! Bieber gets "treated" to multiple Ferraris. Billy Bob drives an aging Kia.

Nobody is going to be treating JHC by attending his Stick Figure Art Show 2015 Retrospective.

So, "equal" how? and define "treat" while you are at it.

[Alex K]

I'd go see Billy Bob. Just sayin'.

[Salacious B. Crumb]

So, if you didn’t believe in a god, you would start treating people with different races, genders, and different sexual orientations with unfairness?

And we weren’t ‘created’ equal. Should all genders, races, sexual orientations, etc. get treated equally under the law? Yes.

But, please explain how everyone is equal. There are many people that are born with a mental handicap and will never be able to be a scientist. There are many people that are born, that will never be able to walk. They won’t be able to compete in a World’s Strongest Man Competition or be able to run a marathon. We weren’t ‘created’ equal.

And if the idea of an invisible man that is watching your every action is the only thing that prevents you from treating people of different ethnicities or genders differently, then you are an immoral person.

[Heywood]

So you don't believe people are really equal, just that society operates more smoothly if we pretend they are?  It sounds like you are simply faking egalitarianism too me.

No one but an idiot believes everyone is actually equal.  You know that some people are better at mathematics than others, some are better at baseball than others, etc.  If you are unaware of these facts, you must be brain dead.

The social equality that is desirable is as Chad32 describes it.  People should have equality of opportunity, and people's needs should be equally regarded by society.

So like Chad, you're just basically faking egalitarianism.  You don't really believe people, races, genders, and sexual orientations are all equivalent do you?

[JesusHChrist]

I'd go see Billy Bob. Just sayin'.

I'd go see most anybody before becoming a Belieber, but many would not make that choice. 

His charms escape my old, jaded eyes. And ears. And wallet. 

I'd even go hear Concerto for Chainsaw and Blender before Mr. Bieber.

[Chad32]

We believe people should be treated equally because that's the best way for a society to all get along with each other. That's also why killing and thievery are pretty universal, whether a culture worships Yahweh/Jesus or not. We're a social species that needs ways to get along with each other, and equality is one of the best ways of accomplishing that. No gods required.

So you don't believe people are really equal, just that society operates more smoothly if we pretend they are?  It sounds like you are simply faking egalitarianism too me.

To an extent, people are equal in the sense that we all have basic rights that should be accepted. One could argue that in some ways we aren't equal. Jim Bob down the street isn't curing cancer or dramatically changing the fabric of society, but he also deserves to be happy as much as the next guy that isn't hurting anyone.

In practice, religion holds back equal rights more than it encourages it.

[Alex K]

No one but an idiot believes everyone is actually equal.  You know that some people are better at mathematics than others, some are better at baseball than others, etc.  If you are unaware of these facts, you must be brain dead.

The social equality that is desirable is as Chad32 describes it.  People should have equality of opportunity, and people's needs should be equally regarded by society.

So like Chad, you're just basically faking egalitarianism.  You don't really believe people, races, genders, and sexual orientations are all equivalent do you?

What on earth do you mean by "equivalent"?

---

I'd even go hear Concerto for Chainsaw

At your service:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A52p9jc-...jc-gOo#t=0

[JesusHChrist]

As far as I can tell, Heywood has not defined his terms and then succeeds in demolishing his strawman creation.

Ha! Take that you vile strawman!

[Angrboda]

Fake is too strong a word. It implies intentional pretense. We derive the belief in certain moral truths through intuition. The subconscious mind percolates our values and out come seeming objective reasons for doing things. One of these percolated values is fairness. It seems objectively true that fairness for all is morally correct. There is no actual objective reason why we couldn't value unfairness, but we simply don't. This is a species constant for the human race. Thus it is reflected in the sphere of human relations 'as if' it were a truly objective fact. From the perspective of human consciousness, it is simply a given. The working out of this value in modern times has been to seek parity of rights and obligations for different classes of persons. It isn't faking; it's simply the normal way in which our brains present moral truths to consciousness.