RE: Some questions for you
January 22, 2017 at 8:50 pm
(This post was last modified: January 22, 2017 at 8:51 pm by Whateverist.)
(January 22, 2017 at 7:55 pm)Joz Wrote: Hi guys, I am a Christian and I like to compare worldviews with atheists/other religions etc. If you're up for it I have some questions for you, I promise these are not so I can preach or assert irrational beliefs, I've read the forum rules for theists
Also I am not trying to catch anyone out, I am a thinker and I just genuinely want to know what you think about these things too.
1. What is morality? Do good and evil exist?
I don't think good or evil exist in themselves. Good isn't a force and neither is evil. Acts can have moral consequences. Treating others in such a way as to inflict harm usually would be called bad while acting for the benefit of the general community or in ways that show consideration for others would be called good. Frankly I prefer the words "pro-social" and "anti-social" though I don't mind using good and bad for them. (I assume you realize that empathy and altruism are arise with our species (and others) naturally, no god required.)
Quid quo pro, Clarice. Do you think Good and Evil are something in themselves apart from particular acts? Do you think they are forces or that demigods of some kind (think angels and demons) promote either good or evil?
(January 22, 2017 at 7:55 pm)Joz Wrote: 2. Presuming that we are highly evolved biological machines whose main motivation is to survive and adapt, why, in societies in general, is there such a collective fixation with love? By this I mean the romantic love expressed in movies, pop music etc. In many movies there seems to be one story, that is, there is a hero, things go bad, the hero finds love, the hero fights for love, the bad is defeated, the hero wins the love. Why is this story so deeply ingrained in our collective subconsciousness?
It is just part of human nature, probably an expression of our adaption as a species to cooperative living along with a generous dash of the sex drive.
(January 22, 2017 at 7:55 pm)Joz Wrote: 3. Why does justice matter to each of us? If someone harms us or someone we love, we want them to pay the consequences. But why should there be consequences for our actions? That would imply judgement and an judge. What if the person that harmed us was merely executing their right to survival of the fittest?
In the lack of any sort of divine justice, what else are you going to do? Obviously people can act anti-socially, even atheists. This is a social construct.
Welcome aboard. Hope you enjoy your time here.
