RE: Can Atheist be objectively moral in the case of a possible follower of an infallible?
July 21, 2015 at 9:48 pm
(This post was last modified: July 21, 2015 at 10:24 pm by Metis.
Edit Reason: Missed a word
)
A very simple and common definition of Good is that is which assists your fellow man. Sometimes this can sit perfectly comfortably alongside religious "revealed" morality; taking care of the sick, feeding the hungry and other good works. Where it really differs is in what I would call "arbitrary" morality, actions which have no effect upon your fellow humans (thus neither good nor bad according to the definition I listed) but are singled out as horrifically evil by religious morality. This ranges from everything from swearing in private to not killing everything that doesn't agree with you.
It's very easy to have notions of good or bad without a deity, we're pack animals by nature and like all pack animals we have an interest in the survival, growth and continuation of the pack. Instead of not stealing candy from a child because El Cantare/Allah/Lord Shnookiewuffles will smite you if you do, you don't steal it because you know it would cause the child distress and you should have hopefully cultivated enough empathy to know that isn't a wise course of action for a creature who spends a great deal of time in the company of other members of his species to take.
But supposing your premise of the spirit guide is correct, what guarantee do we have that this force wants to help us or lead us toward "good"? What is to say the higher power isn't entirely apathetic or actually evil? What's to say the higher power you describe is actually Iblis trying to deceive everyone? Even if such a force revealed itself, why should we assume following it is the right course of action?
It's very easy to have notions of good or bad without a deity, we're pack animals by nature and like all pack animals we have an interest in the survival, growth and continuation of the pack. Instead of not stealing candy from a child because El Cantare/Allah/Lord Shnookiewuffles will smite you if you do, you don't steal it because you know it would cause the child distress and you should have hopefully cultivated enough empathy to know that isn't a wise course of action for a creature who spends a great deal of time in the company of other members of his species to take.
But supposing your premise of the spirit guide is correct, what guarantee do we have that this force wants to help us or lead us toward "good"? What is to say the higher power isn't entirely apathetic or actually evil? What's to say the higher power you describe is actually Iblis trying to deceive everyone? Even if such a force revealed itself, why should we assume following it is the right course of action?
