Origin of morality

[sdelsolray]

From where do moral absolutes originate?
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The evidence indicates that morals are subjective choices of accepted behavior made by consensus among and between groups of sentient carbon-based lifeforms on the planet Earth.  Some have lasted a long time (e.g., no murder without just cause).  Some are more recent and represent a change from prior morals (e.g., slavery used to be OK but now is not OK).  Accordingly, your term "absolutes" is a bit misplaced, although if you consider some morals as approaching the concept of absolute (but never quite getting there), then that is fair enough.

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I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...
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Mere assertions do not make a valid or sound argument.

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So, where does morality originate?

It originates within groups of sentient beings.  For example, there are no morals on Titan, a moon orbiting the planet Saturn.  This is because there are no groups of sentient beings living there.  There are morals on the planet Earth because there are groups of sentient beings living there (e.g., Humans, Chimpanzees, Elephants, Dolphins, etc.).

[MrsSassyPants]

Thomas, are you still scratching your head on this subject?  Choice 1:  Morality has been bestowed upon us by our creator in the (wait a minute, where is he?).  Choice 2: Morality is pretty much common sense and not too complicated for a human being to conjur up.  Choice 3: (fill in the blank)

[GurrenLagann]

From where do moral absolutes originate?

What moral absolutes? I've never heard a convincing account supporting their existence, and they seem impossible by definition.

I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

No god means no sin, sure. Under Abrahamic religions, sin = breaking God's Law, so yeah. But God's Law isn't synonymous with "good", that would only be to an Abrahamic theist.

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

Believing there is "good" and "evil" does not equate believing there being a moral "law", at best your own *personal* moral standard. The only way you can say that there is a moral "lawgiver" (which doesn't even make sense in the context of morality) is if you label it like that and fall for the semantic trick. That's like saying because there are "laws" in science (which, like morality, are not like legal rules) there must be a "lawgiver" of scientific laws, i.e you don't realize there's an obvious difference in how the term "law" is being employed.

So, where does morality originate?

At base, it would seem to be a useful adaptation we picked up, and we're not the only species to do so; basically all social species have some level of moral understanding that they abide by. It seems readily apparent how morality could be advantagous to the survival and propagation of a species.

[Solitary]

Who's morality are we talking about? Only religion talks about absolute morality. Solitary

[FrankDK]

> So, where does morality originate?

Morality evolved among social organisms because it increased the likelihood of getting genes into the next generation.  Many species exhibit what we would call morality, caring for others in the group, and even sacrificing self for the good of others.

Frank

[mykcob4]

From where do moral absolutes originate?

I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

I've heard that tripe for so long I can't stand it any longer. Morals and ethics come from society not from some god. That is a fact. What is moral today wasn't necessarily moral yesturday. That fact proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that morals lie within the society that express them. They change and evolve with the times and with the changes of said society. If there was a moral giver then morality would never change, thus since morals change there is no one moral giver.
If there is a god and that god is perfect he/she/it would not need to change morality to suit different times. Since morals change and NEED to change then the morality wasn't perfect, thus if they were given by a god, that god could not be perfect.
So I just don't want to read hear anything about morality being from a god. I am so tired of the religious hijacking things and claiming that they invented them or some god invented them. They are just a bunch of hypocritical liars one and all!

[MrsSassyPants]

If your so stupid you even have to ask a question like this you don't deserve atheist oxygen.

[GurrenLagann]

That's a bit much man...

[Fidel_Castronaut]

He ain't coming back. And even if he was, he'd still tout the same nonsense like it was gospel.

[Sal1981]

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

For there to be twinkies, one must assume there are Asians. If there are Asians, one must assume there is fudge law. If there is fudge law, then there must be a fudge law giver.

Makes just as much sense.

[Mermaid]

Animal behavior largely is due to natural selection. It's innate. Species survive to the form they exist in today because of their ability to work together or survive alone, to exhibit altruistic or antisocial behavior or to be cannibalistic or commit mass suicide, depending on what species we are talking about.
 
A lot of people do not like to think about humans as just animals, but we evolved just like any other animal.

That being said, there is something about human nature that makes us want other people to behave and think the way we do. Is that innate, due to natural selection? Or is it learned behavior? I have to wonder if it's a little bit of both. We all bristle when people disagree with us, right? What is that about? Why do people want everyone to agree and validate their beliefs?

I have always thought of "moral" as a subjective word. It's different things to different people. I see The Bible as a guideline for people who don't care to construct their own set of morals. I happen to think the "morals" that Believers tend to get behind are largely wrong.

[Mermaid]

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

For there to be twinkies, one must assume there are Asians. If there are Asians, one must assume there is fudge law. If there is fudge law, then there must be a fudge law giver.

Makes just as much sense.

I'm hungry.

[Smartmarzipan]

From where do moral absolutes originate?

I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

Here you go.

http://www.evolutionaryethics.com/

The foundation of the emergence of rule systems is built upon centuries of reasoned insight and personal experiences that reveal which actions are better than others, which are productive, and which are disruptive and should be avoided. As efficient actions reveal themselves to an evolving society, its people develop the means to make productive choices between one type of action and another. Some choices are decidedly better than others. This prioritizing of human actions into efficient hierarchies establishes the foundations of rule systems which later refine themselves into more sophisticated systems of morals, manners and statutory laws. All these systems have a tendency to address the fundamental need of the human species to survive and avoid the common fate of extinction by conserving energy and directing social attention towards more productive kinds of behavior. It could be said that as civilization approaches the ideal of efficiency, the harmony that follows from efficient and thoughtful actions inspires a state of peace that exponentially increases the chances of human civilization surviving over long periods of time.

That's where they come from.....us.

[gomtuu77]

From where do moral absolutes originate?

I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

Morality is grounded in the character and nature of God, the creator, Himself.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

From where do moral absolutes originate?

I'll try and summarize what I heard in a debate..

No god means no sin, no good, and no evil

For there to be evil, one must assume there is good.  If there is good, one must assume there is moral law. If there is moral law, then there must be a moral law giver...

So, where does morality originate?

Morality is grounded in the character and nature of God, the creator, Himself.

Nope.