Where Does Morality Come From?

Nihilism

1. 1a : a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless Nihilism is a condition in which all ultimate values lose their value. — Ronald H. Nashb : a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nihilism
   
   I do not see anarchists as nihilists as they often fight for a cause while a nihilist would not.
   

 

As a Deist I am undecided on the question of what happens after death but thus far I am leaning towards we become bug food as it is the hypothesis that relies upon the fewest assumption.

 

Occam's Razor is indeed very practical.

I too am Deist.

 

Ok thanks for clarifying that. I have apparently read about Nihilism in passing within the dozen or so Philosophy books that I have read about 100 times. It rings a bell.

I really cannot speak for Anarchists. I know one when I see one. That's all.

I myself believe in British Empiricism, not because I am British, but because Bertrand Russell and Roger Scruton my two favorite philosophers are British Empiricists.

 

Shall I take this as your way of playing the weasel?

 

Well I have heard some very hard Jewish questions in my time and many of them are impossible to answer logically or philosophically.

For example, when one particular famous rabbi in a particular Nazi death camp called for a miracle from Heaven to free all the Jews from there, nothing happened. He then concluded that there is no God.

Is it true?

I struggled with this for many years until I switched from being a Theist to becoming a Deist.

And this for me solved the problem.

Short of converting to Deism from your own or anybody else's Theism, is it a logical question to ask whether God abandoned the Jews or whether the Jews abandoned God? If you are a Theist then this is a troubling question.

But since I have become a Deist (former Catholic) the question is meaningless.

Does this help @yguy ?

By the way @yguy you really need to get yourself an avatar, as Johnny Depp would say in "Pirates Of The Caribbean" (speaking of girlfriends however).

 

Ones society and based on the culture and certain evolutionary drives as social animals in a complex culture. Murder is wrong because killing other members of the society without cause and due processes is harming it. When we go to battle to defend ones society its not murder proper under most systems of morality as one example and executing a murderer is after a proper trial justice done on behalf of the victims.

 

In a way, yes.

Actually it's pretty evident by now that what I need is to put you on ignore. Happy trails.

 

Morality comes form the devil, ethics comes from God.

 

Thanks for the update (about your iggy list).

I shall therefore put you on the same, my iggy list.

 

Ethics seem to be morality defined in detail for the masses instead of the individual. Morality is the way people behave when no one is watching, ethics come into play when they are.

 

In other words....Ethics are rules and Morality is mentality.

 

Yes it is.

That is cool. There are a few of us here on the forums.

 

I cannot agree with that statement, sorry.

Ethics is a choice based on an emotional reaction to what is deemed to be best.

Morality are actions based on ethics.

Has nothing to do with rules. Rules are laws. Laws are given by kings/queens and legislators.

And I have no idea what you @tecoyah mean by "mentality". That word does not come up in Philosophy, Science, nor in Religion.

 

Not really familiar with British Empiricism. Age of Reason thinkers, John Locke and such?

 

Yes, Locke was an Empiricist.

Sextus Empiricus was the first Empiricist back in 200 AD somewhere in the Roman Empire.

[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextus_Empiricus ]

Modern Empiricism evolved out of Descartes' "Rationalism".

The opposite of Rationalism is "Romanticism" which simply means you love God and your philosophy is based on Religion (a huge mistake because according to Bertrand Russell you are always supposed to keep Religion, Philosophy, and Science completely separate.

However Romanticism exists due to Augustine and Aquinas who were Catholic philosophers and in their day Philosophy had to be based on Church doctrine or else they would have been burned at the stake.

With the subsequent freedom gained under the Protestant Reformation in England and in North Germany, first Rationalism and then Empiricism was able to develop, clandestinely in France and Germany and openly in England and Holland.

If you want to know more you will need to read Bertrand Russell's book "History Of Western Philosophy".

https://www.amazon.com/History-Western-Philosophy-Bertrand-Russell/dp/0671201581

 

Morality isn't static; it constantly changes. Think about any issue. Consider how it has changed over time.

 

What is your interest in philosophy, academic, seeker of enlightenment, both or something else?

 

In the case of the rabbi it's obvious that his prayer was answered since he and others survived to whine about their experience. If it was a true death camp he should have been killed. But since he survived to tell his tale he was in fact freed, thereby his prayer was answered.

 

Morality is a societal construct to define what is acceptable thought and behavior and what is not. Certain morals are generally understood in a successful society.

Moral relativity dictates changes in the societal moral code as events for that society unfold.

Neither perspective alone is healthy.

 

Interesting, thanks for the tip on the book.

 

I don't think this rabbi survived.

I think one of the camp survivors live to tell the story but most were gassed.

You are assuming facts not in evidence.

I only remember the story.

 

Nice quote. A good rebuttal to counter a baseless claim. Where did the quote originate? I generally rebut by saying something to the effect of "Source citation needed for the above claim".

 

There's no shortage of stories.

 

I know.

I read it somewhere and it struck me.

I also happen to know personally a lot of modern Jews who are atheist due to the occurrence of the WW2 Holocaust alone.