Stop teaching morons that Christianity has a monopoly on virtue

I'm not sure how evidence (secreting it) points to an intuition in another's head, since you are talking about intuition helping discern a higher truth.
You have a lot of intuits!

I think your case is better here, but still it is equivocal. I could equally argue someone who violates a code
is doing so to avoid the social consequences of doing it. Dahmer possibly was not wrestling against his intuitive sense
of a higher and virtuous moral code when he was eating the corpse of his gay lover in the house instead of on a park bench. :)

And thank you also. Been fun. But now I am procrastinating. At least its friday.

Have a good Friday.

Biologist Richard Dawkins asserts that all altruism and morality can be explained by genetics and evolution.

The idea has merit.
But I am not sure If morality can be boiled down simply to biochemistry.

I did say that a universal moral consciousness probably exists whether one chooses to act on it or not. Mass murderers have deviant brains, which do not appear capable of guilt, and may be incapable of acting in accordance with a moral code.

Fierce moral integrity is otherwise almost universally admired. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King will always be admired in a way that Bill Gates and Paul McCartney never will be. These days, even die hard Republicans express admiration for the steadfast morality and basic goodnesses of Jimmy Carter.

The philosophers of the axial age - Plato, Jesus, Zarathustra, Sidartha Guatauma, Confucius - were all teaching and articulating the same (in some cases, identical) metaphysical moral vision, even though they had never met each other and lived in different parts of the world.

To me, that all seemingly goes a little bit beyond biochemistry and genetics. There seems to be an intuitive recognition, an innate knowledge of a universal moral imperative.
 
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Tolerance and diversity are other values I believe in, and I think it is reasonable and rational for me to believe in it, even though I cannot prove them by empircal data and the experimental method.

Some people wonder how anyone can possibly have such self confidence to come to accurate conclusions based only on one's own observations.

You must be like a super hero (or more like a super villain) to those without your good judgment and those not as self assured.

Good to meet you.

:-)
 
Some people wonder how anyone can possibly have such self confidence to come to accurate conclusions based only on one's own observations.

You must be like a super hero (or more like a super villain) to those without your good judgment and those not as self assured.

Good to meet you.

:-)


Every opinion by Cypress is 100% absolute fact. No need to debate him.
 
Why would I? I am not an asshole like you.

Let it be noted that you began the personal insults.

I can't say that I blame you.

It must be tough sporting the equivalent of a DUNCE cap on all your posts.

The thing that I can't figure out is why you STILL use that account moniker.

Probably the same bad juju that made you choose to support Biden in the first place.

You want America to suffer.

And the more you suffer from the ridicule your name engenders, the more determined you are to ride that name into infamy trying to do your part to make America hurt in some small way.

Silliman.
 
Let it be noted that you began the personal insults.

I can't say that I blame you.

It must be tough sporting the equivalent of a DUNCE cap on all your posts.

The thing that I can't figure out is why you STILL use that account moniker.

Probably the same bad juju that made you choose to support Biden in the first place.

You want America to suffer.

And the more you suffer from the ridicule your name engenders, the more determined you are to ride that name into infamy.

Silliman.

troll
 
Laws dealing with crime such as theft, murder, rape are not exactly what I am talking about. What I am taking about is beyond the realm of administrative sanctions petty crime and property damage.

I am saying a higher moral consciousness is not a matter of mere opinion.

>>https://www.justplainpolitics.com/s...as-a-monopoly-on-virtue&p=4699790#post4699790

It is a matter of power and establishing laws and punishments. It is a practical decision. Morality is internal. You do right because you understand it is right. All we have done is codify the laws that society requires to exist in relative security. Many people have a conscience and do not want to do harm to other people or harm the commons. They are not like Trump.
 
I have never been more proud of any vote I've ever cast than my vote for Biden and against Trump. And it will remain that way forever.
 
Hello evince,

I’m don’t think so


Many of my atheist friends say it too


Just like lots of people say OH MY GOD when they are surprised by something

Just say 'Oh my goodness' instead.

Or simply OMG, and you define what it means.

That's the way to avoid being hypocritical.
 
Hello Cypress,

I agree that there is a certain hubris in certainty.

Like the kind of steadfast certainty found both in dogmatic religion or hardcore atheism.

There are probably limits to our access to knowledge and truth based on the cognitive capacities of our primate brains.

On the flipside, I maintain there are many things humans can reasonably believe in which do not require empircal evidence or scientific experimentation. Even empiricism has it's limits.

The American and French Revolutions were based on the belief in a higher truth about natural law and natural rights. There was nothing emperical about that belief.

The Nazis were not prosecuted at Nuremberg on the basis of American, British, or German law. They were prosecuted based on the belief of a universal morality invoked by natural law.

There is no scientific experiment anyone can run which would empirically support the allies claim of a universal moral authority which superceded national laws and public opinion.

The moral of the story for me is that there are plenty of things humans can reasonably believe in which cannot be proven by empiricism or sensory perception.

Well, that just boils down to what is the definition of 'good.'
 
Hello Cypress,

Belief, by definition, falls somewhere in between truth and conjecture. Belief can be, but is not necessarily, based on reason and rationality.

It has nothing to do with God, Allah Vishnu, or Brahman We all believe things without empircal proofs or laboratory experiments. There simply is not enough analytical data available to us to build our knowledge and experience on. If any of us really thought about it, we all hold many beliefs which are not based on empirical data or laboratory results.

My faith is simply that I believe in the goodness of humans to prevail over the badness of humans. Not every time, but in general. I base this faith on the fact that the world has progressed over time. If badness prevailed, the world would come apart, descend into anarchy. Thievery would be greater than production. But that is not the case. So I have my faith.
 
Hello Cypress,

All I am saying is that belief can be rational, and does not necessarily have to be based on empirical data, sensory perception, or the experimental method.

There is literally no data that says there has to be a fundamental moral code which exists, and which holds true irrespective of the whims of kings or of mob rule.


This might be one of history's most famous expressions of a universal natural law, expressing a self-evident moral consciousness, based on a higher truth..

Agreed.

It is logical to be kind to others because that helps society. In turn, society benefits the individual. So by being kind to others, then others will be kind in return.

Normally stated as: "What goes around comes around," or "What you put out there, you get back."
 
Belief doesn't have to fall between truth and conjecture. Nutcases really believe Trump was robbed of the election.
That is a strong belief and it is pure delusional thinking contrary to absolute fact.
 
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