Reward-Based Morality
Why does it even matter? What pleasure does it give people to continuously argue about religion? The human population's beleifs will forever differ, therefore, what is arguing about it going to solve?
It gets to me when a person is judged because of a certain belief system, or lack of, they have.
I have been in numerous discussions when after I tell the opposer that I do not believe in a god, she or he will then say something along the lines of, "So then what's the point of being moral? Why don't you just go out and have all the fun you like, drink, have sex with multiple partners, do drugs, lie, cheat, etc.?" I will then answer with something like "The point is I don't need a reward at the end of the road. I do good for myself, for the people around me, not for some god that will reject me if I simply have a different set of beliefs."
Why can't we all just get along?
Because different thoughts can lead to different behaviors.
"The point is I don't need a reward at the end of the road."
OK. But I think you are implying that people that believe in God do so out of fear or for profit in some future life. This may very well be true with many and even most God-believers, but I don't think it needs to be true. Some people may simply believe that God exists but it has no relevancy on their morals and may even have a negative effect on their morals. For example, I think Satanists generally believe in God and also in their own unorthodox morality. (Apologies to Satanists if I've gotten this wrong.) Others may believe in God but root their morality in other principles that have nothing to do with theism, such as the categorical imperative.
"Satan worshippers presumably believe this, but there is at least a goodly portion of Satanists, AFAIK, who do not in fact believe in God or Satan as actual entities."
Sounds like Uniterian Satanists. Orthodox satanists would surely believe that there is a God since Satan was a fallen angel of God. I suppose the more liberal Satanists would view Satan as a kind of a symbol representing values in distinction to another symbol-- the battle of the symbols.
It gets to me when a person is judged because of a certain belief system, or lack of, they have.
I have been in numerous discussions when after I tell the opposer that I do not believe in a god, she or he will then say something along the lines of, "So then what's the point of being moral? Why don't you just go out and have all the fun you like, drink, have sex with multiple partners, do drugs, lie, cheat, etc.?" I will then answer with something like "The point is I don't need a reward at the end of the road. I do good for myself, for the people around me, not for some god that will reject me if I simply have a different set of beliefs."
Why can't we all just get along?
Because different thoughts can lead to different behaviors.
"The point is I don't need a reward at the end of the road."
OK. But I think you are implying that people that believe in God do so out of fear or for profit in some future life. This may very well be true with many and even most God-believers, but I don't think it needs to be true. Some people may simply believe that God exists but it has no relevancy on their morals and may even have a negative effect on their morals. For example, I think Satanists generally believe in God and also in their own unorthodox morality. (Apologies to Satanists if I've gotten this wrong.) Others may believe in God but root their morality in other principles that have nothing to do with theism, such as the categorical imperative.
"Satan worshippers presumably believe this, but there is at least a goodly portion of Satanists, AFAIK, who do not in fact believe in God or Satan as actual entities."
Sounds like Uniterian Satanists. Orthodox satanists would surely believe that there is a God since Satan was a fallen angel of God. I suppose the more liberal Satanists would view Satan as a kind of a symbol representing values in distinction to another symbol-- the battle of the symbols.
Labels: ethics
posted by My Mall and News at
6:10 PM
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