(November 14, 2013 at 11:56 pm)Esquilax Wrote: They're based on the fact that we live in a reality, and can reliably predict our response to certain stimuli. For example, one independent moral would be that harming people is bad; we can say this, because in every sense our pain reaction is a negative one. There are exceptions- the shot you give your kids may hurt them temporarily, but they'll be immunized for the future- but as a general rule, "don't cause pain," holds up pretty well.
Creating a morality isn't an issue. It's creating a morality that applies to others.
For example: A ruthless dictator is having your fingernails pulled out. You say "I'm having a negative pain reaction, therefore this is bad!" To which he says, "Odd, I don't feel a thing."
You get around this by speaking as "we" like all humans are on the some big team. But I think history shows that's quite the stretch.
