Morality

[whatever76]

Now firstly I just want to make it clear that I don't come from any religion at all. I've been brought up an Atheist, and a very rational thinker.

But, it seems to me that atheism brought to it's logical conclusions is; nihilism... Nietzsche is another who came to this same stance.

Nietzsche was not a nihilist. He saw Christianity (as well as Buddhism) as nihilism and his philosophy was an attempt to respond to it.

To put it simple, religion (along with corporations and governments today) impose a morality that supports the continuation of the institution to the detriment of the individual. The basic principle is seen in Christ's crucifixion-- the sacrifice of the individual for the herd. Nietzsche's idea was to reverse this principle; i.e. the sacrifice of the herd for the good of the individual. This is what he meant by "Will to Power". Other philosopher's have come up with similar conclusions (albeit, distinctive from Nietzsche in their own right), such as Ayn Rand's rational self-interest. There are flaws in Nietzsche's philosophy, but he was not a nihilist.

That morality is non existent, and the only purpose left of life is to pursuer our own maximum pleasure, by any means necessary.
Love, moral values, and meaning is just an self delusion, no different to the delusion of god.
This seems the only honest conclusion. Just one big vanity fair, where anything goes.

To seek out maximum pleasure by any means necessary has consequences that outweigh the benefit of momentary gratification. Reason sublimates passion.

Shooting heroin and seeking a cure for cancer would both have similar neurological effects, but the one pleasure has a deterioration that slopes quickly while the other slowly accumulates.

Atheism destroys the idea of an absolute moral standard, but not morality itself. An absolute morality creates a duality in a human being between the way they should act (ie God) and the way that they actually behave (i.e. human). The gap between the ideal and the real person is the cause of most evil in the world on both an individual and group level. As Feuerbach puts it, God is man alienated from himself.

A better morality is one that is integrative-- one that removes the gap between reality and ideal-- rather than being perfectionist and authoritarian. The primary integrative behavior is acceptance of inconsistency, uncertainty, and impermanence. Ironically, it's that acceptance that permits a sense of wonder, spontaneity, creativity, and love.

but, this is not something I can agree with... Not simply because of the despair it entails, but because it just doesn't make sense to me in my own personal life, and I doubt it does in yours either!

That existential despair is ironically significant. Many people won't cross that abyss to the other shore, but it is well worth the trip.

Despite my love of reason, and distaste for dogma, I can no longer call myself an atheist... unless a solution is presented

So I'm here to ask how you guys deal with this dilemma?
What grounds for morality is there without some type of god(I'd probably prefer the word "consciousness") that we all come from?
nationality? power? science?

I wrote about it. I kept a journal for a year beginning in the depths of despair. I ended up with over 200,000 words and I learned a lot about myself. I read ferociously: Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Fromm, Carl Rogers, BF Skinner, Camus, Sartre. I had some good friends, one in particular who who helped me immensely. I wish you could meet her. Ultimately, I didn't accept anyone's answers as truth. I wanted to uncover what was me.