However, I do still stand firmly by the belief that banning the practice of each and every religion out there would do absolutely no harm to humankind in any way whatsoever.
Who wants religion eradicated off the planet here?
Me. Nothing wrong with believing in god or afterlife, but it should in no way affect the way we live or make believers force their beliefs upon others the way people of abrahamic religions do, it's disgusting what christianity and islam have done to the advancement of humanity through history
The eradication of religion is actually something I'd like. As an Atheist I wont pretend like I don't want that but in a peaceful way of turning people against it through science and education and promoting free thinking. Not violence or by getting the goverment to force them to abandon beliefs. But I am also a strong supporter of separation of church and state. You want to be religious, have god involved in your life, fine by me. Do it at home, in church but not in public/government establishments like schools or court.
I am not really changing them, I do not believe in the Christian conception of God and frankly the idea of a God in general sounds ridiculous to me, but I cannot affirm anything hence why I prefer to align with the agnostic label now.
I see your point but I would like to point out that agnosticism and atheism describe two completely different aspects. Agnosticism describes a position of knowledge; someone who is agnostic about god says he has no evidence/knowledge of there being a god. Atheism however is a position of belief, which means if you don't believe there to be a god as you stated in the post then you are by definition an atheist. Many people think agnosticism is a mild version of atheism or something of the sort even when that's not true. Everyone, atheist or not, is technically an agnostic since no one posseses knowledge about the existence of a god.
Hey guys I've always wanted to ask this question: As an atheist/agnostic, do you believe morality is absolute or relative? And how do you determine what is right and wrong, good or bad?
Hey guys I've always wanted to ask this question: As an atheist/agnostic, do you believe morality is absolute or relative? And how do you determine what is right and wrong, good or bad?
Morality can't be absolute because morality varies greatly depending on the time, the place and the culture. Socialisation is what shapes people's morals in cobination with individual personality traits.
A very simple way to be a good moral person is the golden rule "Treat everyone as you wish to be treated yourself". Have some empathy on top of that and you are good to go.
Hey guys I've always wanted to ask this question: As an atheist/agnostic, do you believe morality is absolute or relative? And how do you determine what is right and wrong, good or bad?
There can be no such thing as an absolute morality as it is a subjective, abstract concept. As time changes so do people and their perception of what is moral. The key to morality lies within 2 things, our instincts to survive which innately tells us that as a species and a community we are stronger together than alone and selfish. Such things can be found often in the animal kingdom and among insects and also human empathy which helps us determine how others feel and what would be the best "moral" action to take in particular situations.
Morality can't be absolute because morality varies greatly depending on the time, the place and the culture. Socialisation is what shapes people's morals in cobination with individual personality traits.
A very simple way to be a good moral person is the golden rule "Treat everyone as you wish to be treated yourself". Have some empathy on top of that and you are good to go.
Quote:
Originally posted by Ecstasy
There can be no such thing as an absolute morality as it is a subjective, abstract concept. As time changes so do people and their perception of what is moral. The key to morality lies within 2 things, our instincts to survive which innately tells us that as a species and a community we are stronger together than alone and selfish. Such things can be found often in the animal kingdom and among insects and also human empathy which helps us determine how others feel and what would be the best "moral" action to take in particular situations.
I appreciate both of your answers, thank you. But this is just your personal opinion, correct? If morality is relative, then doesn't that technically make everybody's idea of morality valid and right? Wouldn't arguing whether something is morally right or wrong from an atheist/agnostic world view be the same as arguing whether a certain food taste good/ bad or a certain color was pretty or ugly? If morality isn't absolute, then isn't it just your personal preference?
I appreciate both of your answers, thank you. But this is just your personal opinion, correct? If morality is relative, then doesn't that technically make everybody's idea of morality valid and right? Wouldn't arguing whether something is morally right or wrong from an atheist/agnostic world view be the same as arguing whether a certain food taste good/ bad or a certain color was pretty or ugly? If morality isn't absolute, then isn't it just your personal preference?
So an atheist sense of morality is like their taste in food ?
Morality depends on your education, and the society you live in, all member of the same society will roughly have the same sense of morality.
I appreciate both of your answers, thank you. But this is just your personal opinion, correct? If morality is relative, then doesn't that technically make everybody's idea of morality valid and right? Wouldn't arguing whether something is morally right or wrong from an atheist/agnostic world view be the same as arguing whether a certain food taste good/ bad or a certain color was pretty or ugly? If morality isn't absolute, then isn't it just your personal preference?
Yes, I belive that is the case which is why despite all I've said about survival as a species and human empathy, there are people who still do awful things. their sense and understanding of morality greatly differs from ours. Just like how a Christians sense of morality that they insist they got from the bible, differs from a muslims sense of morality that they got from Quran.
What are you calling medically assisted suicide ? Like when people who have incurable diseases ask doctors to end it quicker ?
Yes that. See I recently discovered a case in my country, where there is a fine for attempting suicide. This woman, who was plagued with debt and depression jumped into a river, got rescued and was slapped with that fine. Idk, it's not something I've 100% made my mind up about and I wanna hear what y'all think
Yes that. See I recently discovered a case in my country, where there us a fine for attempting suicide. This woman, who was plagued with debt and depression jumped into a river, got rescued and was slapped with that fine. Idk, it's not something I've 100% made my mind up about and I wanna hear what y'all think
I'm 100% in favor of medically assisted suicide, the incurability has to be determined by several doctors though, like we have to be 100% sure the person can't make it. In that case, I'm ok with the patient saying they want to end it, personally if they still have the capacity to talk, or by written statement (like a testament). I'm even ok with the family members taking that decision if the patient did not say anything regarding this during their life and is not in capacity to express themselves.
Non medically assisted, I think it's a personal choice, it's always sad because it's often because of depression, but at the end of the day what can you do to stop someone committing suicide ? Like in your case what is the fine going to achieve other than increasing the woman's debt ?
I'm 100% in favor of medically assisted suicide, the incurability has to be determined by several doctors though, like we have to be 100% sure the person can't make it. In that case, I'm ok with the patient saying they want to end it, personally if they still have the capacity to talk, or by written statement (like a testament). I'm even ok with the family members taking that decision if the patient did not say anything regarding this during their life and is not in capacity to express themselves.
Non medically assisted, I think it's a personal choice, it's always sad because it's often because of depression, but at the end of the day what can you do to stop someone committing suicide ? Like in your case what is the fine going to achieve other than increasing the woman's debt ?
Yea I am leaning towards the same opinions myself except for the part of family members deciding. I think that in no way should one be given a responsibility, or an opportunity to decide somebody fate on that level. It has to be the patient and nobody else. I know from personal experiences with my immediate family that you can never know for sure how long somebody is willing to fight and keep hoping.
To be fined for attempting suicide (even more so when she's already plagued with debt) is ridiculous.
What Country do you reside in? And honestly, I think the "Death with dignity law" should be put in place universally. Take Brittany Maynard's case for example: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/07/opinio...ancer-dignity/ -- And people may not agree, but, I think people who aren't terminally ill should also have the legal option to assisted suicide. Obviously, medical help should always be the first option to help them with their psychological issues. Medication has help hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people but not everyone wants to be on meds (anti-depressants) for the rest of their life. Plus, dealing with all the bad side effects. All in all, it's a very complex topic.
