Atheism and Ethics

[Questor]

Error theory, like objectivism, wouldn't be more or less accurate based on whether or not there are gods...but it also seems as though our level of compulsion is not necessarily affected by the accuracy (or purported accuracy) of fact statements.  As an error theorist you likely still feel compelled by at least some moral fact statements...even though you suspect that they're all false.

Yep, I absolutely feel compelled by some moral feelings (however I parse that) and think that there are good evolutionary reasons why I would. I happen to think trying to get rid of these probably isn’t possible, even for just me, let alone the entire population. So I struggle with the Now What Problem of moral error theory. More reading to do
Currently I think that belief in moral properties has had some good effect on societies, especially when smaller. That they also have bad effects is also clear to me with views on women’s role in society, sexual morality etc. if we didn’t believe that some things were based on objective properties then perhaps these issues wouldn’t have been as difficult to revise. I am pretty ignorant on all this though

They can be true and we may say so what - like a christian who acknowledges their arguments are poor but doesn't change their beliefs to reflect that...or they may all be false and we're still compelled - like you..explicitly..or myself..implicitly.

The “so what” problem is more than just an argumentative turn in my opinion. It is a question about what it is that makes moral properties somehow motivating or binding as a standard. Rather than just being a fact that our behaviour can approximate to some degree or another, how are these properties relevant to me if I don’t care about them. Also how is it that I am somehow bad if I don’t feel bothered with them and act otherwise. I don’t see that such a thing exists, but that could be a failure in my imagination

Surely it is societal standards and the resultant peer pressure that makes moral properties both motivating and binding. To belong to any societal group would surely affect one's behavior, due to its effect on one's ability to succeed within the group, would it not?