Review 2 (General)

by Mark , Tuesday, October 21, 2008, 20:48 (5673 days ago) @ Carl

Carl, I did not say that atheist ethics are arbitrary. I said that atheist morals are "no deeper than an arbitrary decision of the will". In other words an atheist moral decision is no deeper, no different in kind, than a choice of cereal for breakfast. In practice their moral decisions are not arbitrary. They do, as you suggest, by and large choose actions according to whether they will benefit themselves or others. (I'm assuming that by "benefit" you mean what promotes such things as wealth and health.) But they remain the kind of decisions I have described. Twice you use the word "must" of atheists: "atheists must live...", "They must ask of their actions...". There is no "must" for atheists. There is no compelling reason to live or to seek the beneficial, only the choice to do so.