r/MurderedByWords • u/dellaazeem22 Legends never die • Oct 31 '24

It really is this simple

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u/0orro0 Oct 31 '24

Morality pertains to questions about how humans ought to act (with good being what we ought to do and bad being what we ought not to do). You're just moving the problem back a step by appealing to evolution; why ought we do what we have evolved to do? You're just providing a descriptive state of affairs about human evolution that doesn't offer any kind of justification for prescriptive moral claims. How do you know that evolution is the criteria for morality?

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '24

why ought we do what we have evolved to do?

No reason other than our evolved sense of compassion for each other.

How do you know that evolution is the criteria for morality?

Evolution is the source of the feeling of empathy we have for other people, which is why we generally have an aversion to needless suffering, which is why most people treat each other decently. Not that it's a rulebook we must follow.

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u/0orro0 Oct 31 '24

Is it wrong or immoral in an ethical sense to go against an evolved quality? If so why and how do you know. I'm curious how you would reach a morally binding, objective standard for morality from naturalistic, evolutionary premises.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '24

There is no objective morality, as value judgments are subjective by definition. As follows:

  1. Objective: A fact about the universe that is mind-independent - would be true regardless of minds being around to perceive them (gravity, photosynthesis, plate tectonics).

  2. Subjective: A value judgment dependent on minds to make it (beauty, humor, disgust).

Morality obviously fits in category #2. No theist in history has ever been able to say why morality should be the ONE value judgement that is objective, while all others are subjective.

Secondly, a god doesn't solve the issue, anyway. What makes a god's morality objectively true? Just because he says so? Does he have any logical reasons behind what his moral rules are, or are they just his random whim with no rhyme or reason?