RE: Christians take on the more nihilistic atheists
December 29, 2015 at 9:46 pm
(This post was last modified: December 29, 2015 at 9:47 pm by henryp.)
(December 29, 2015 at 8:33 pm)Brakeman Wrote: WTF?? That's silly. Of course we make choices. You made a choice to respond to my text and you used your morality to temper your textural response. Morals do not have to be big issue like murder, theft, or adultery. It can be as small as agreeing on forum standards and abiding by forum rules.
principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
A fun thing for me, is that I often have to pretend to believe in things I don't believe in just to engage in conversation. So I'll waffle back and forth between what I believe and what most believe a bit in here. Forgive me if my language gets mixed up. It's not easy to keep track of.
Re: It's silly to suggest we don't choose:
From your perspective it appears to be a choice. But that could just be due to a lack of knowledge. A rock rolls down the hill towards a tree, and we think "It might hit the tree." With our understanding of the situation, both hitting the tree and not hitting the tree are a possibility. But reality is that there is no uncertainty. (barring some quantum randomness). With complete knowledge we would not see the possibility of two outcomes.
You believe I chose to respond to the text. But we have no evidence that in our universe in that exact scenario I could have done anything else (again barring quantum randomness). You and I just didn't know whether I would hit the tree or not, so it appears there was a choice made.
Re: Your definition of Morality.
I don't believe right/wrong or good/bad behavior. Going back to our rock, I don't think you would attribute morality to the path the rock takes rolling down the hill. You would never call it an evil rock, or a rock that did something morally wrong. I assume you don't believe rocks can behave morally/immorally. As someone who doesn't believe in free will, I can no more rationally view a human as evil than I could a rock, or the weather.
Pretending I believe in free will: I've chosen to be motivated by practicality. I don't respond to you like a jerk, because I want the conversation to continue, as I receive positive feedback from talking about this stuff. Quantifying it in terms of good or bad is trying to make it something it's not. If you want to murder a bunch of people, that's no different than not wanting to murder a bunch of people. Actions are just actions. Some actions oppose my goals practically, but that doesn't make them wrong or immoral. Instead, I favor laws. We make practical rules to prevent unwanted behavior. Our not wanting it doesn't make it wrong or immoral. Just unwanted due to reality. I don't want to die. That is a fact. So I will look to keep myself from being murdered. I support laws that prevent murder in the same way I avoid crossing rickety bridges over large ravines. Both help keep me alive. I don't think you would call my decision not to cross the rickety bridge a moral decision?
