RE: Atheism and Ethics
July 7, 2024 at 7:54 pm
(This post was last modified: July 7, 2024 at 8:00 pm by Angrboda.)
(July 7, 2024 at 7:24 pm)The Grand Nudger Wrote: I think that's a common perception of law, but we might find that it's not the case if we refer to the vast amount of things that we believe are immoral..but are not illegal. Moral fairness is also out the window when we compare white collar sentences with massive consequences and thefts that carry longer sentences with lesser consequence.
I suppose there are people who think that the law should be more closely aligned with our moral intuitions - but I don't think so. I tend to see law as relative ethics and morality as it's own thing. Relative ethics don't need morality any more than relative morality needs realism. We could be a legalistic rather than moral society - this is a simplification, ofc, as we're a combination of both.
The fact that not all things that are immoral are illegal isn't a defeater, as the justification flows the other direction. It's not necessary that all morals be reflected in law, only that all law has a moral justification. Ultimately law derives its justification from morals. Your theories about laws and proportionately don't refute that.
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