RE: morality is subjective and people don't have free will
May 15, 2017 at 3:55 pm
(This post was last modified: May 15, 2017 at 4:14 pm by Catholic_Lady.)
(May 15, 2017 at 3:52 pm)mh.brewer Wrote:(May 15, 2017 at 1:58 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: There's been a few threads recently about free will and morality, so my apologies for starting another one. The thing is, they got me curious about something so I wanted to ask you guys.
So first of all, 2 things:
1. It seems many of you hold the opinion that morality is subjective. Meaning there is no real, set in stone, right or wrong. Basically, if one person thinks a particular act is good, and another person thinks that same act is bad, nether one of these 2 people is actually correct. It's all just a matter of opinion, like one person thinking red is the best color and another thinking blue is.
2. It also seems many of you hold the opinion that people don't actually have free will. Their acts are purely a result of circumstances and are not freely chosen. Basically the person could not have acted any differently because their action was only a result of their own inherent nature and whatever circumstances put them in the position to commit that act.
So my question is this... for those who feel both these things are true - if there is no real right or wrong, and if people don't have the freedom to choose their behavior - then why do you get angry about people acting (or thinking) any certain way? After all, not only is there no right or wrong anyway, but these people don't even choose to act as they do.
So how can you justify being angry at the person who rapes, kills, steals, lies, cheats, is conservative, is religious, likes Trump, IS Trump, etc etc? Am I missing something?
Subjective/relative morality exists on a sliding scale. Quick example(s): Lying to convict an innocent person = very bad side of the scale. Lying when my wife asks me if those jeans make her butt look fat = not as bad. Stealing a freezer of meat because I don't want to pay but want meat = bad, stealing a freezer of meat to feed starving homeless = not as bad. Man rapes a woman = bad, man rapes a ewe = not as bad????? Each person/society will have a different take on where the action lies on the morality scale. Your still thinking in absolutes, stop it.
Free will does exist. It does not exist in the presence of an omniscient god, inside or outside of time.
To be clear, I understand some things are worse than others and some things are a grey area. That's not what I was saying.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh