RE: On theism, why do humans have moral duties even if there are objective moral values?
May 22, 2022 at 11:49 am
(This post was last modified: May 22, 2022 at 12:07 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
(May 22, 2022 at 9:00 am)Pnerd Wrote: My point was not to pass a value judgement on self-interest. I was asking whether there are reasons other than self-interest for believing (from a theistic perspective) that humans have moral duties and obligations towards others.
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As I keep trying to explain......the bold indicates that your question is malformed.
Asserting objective moral duties and obligations towards others can only be done one way, which has nothing to do with gods or god beliefs...at all. A theist is as free to assert (or reject) such duties and obligations as an atheist. Are you unclear as to why a person would believe as much? Can you personally think of any reason why we would have moral duties and obligations towards others that satisfy the criteria of objectivity?
If so, congratulations - that's one example that any theist might also refer to as reason to think we do.
If not, congratulations - a theist might have all of the same reasons to be skeptical.
There is no "specific to perspective x" in moral objectivity. Not mine, not yours, not a theist's, not a god's, not the housecat's. If the existence of moral values and moral duties are dependent on individual perspectives...that's moral subjectivity. If the existence of moral values and moral duties are dependent on some identifiable group's perspective...that's moral relativity. The thing you keep referring to as an obvious reason to assert objective moral values or duties - reward seeking and pain avoidance, is explicitly subjective. What you find rewarding, I may not. What you find painful, I may not. A religion whose adherents do what they do to seek reward rather than to seek good, to avoid pain rather than avoid bad, is explicitly relativist. The rewarding may not be the good, the good may in fact be painful.
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