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/atheism/ - Atheism

The rejection of belief in the existence of deities

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File: 1423343653691.jpg (126.02 KB, 384x480, 4:5, nietzsche.jpg)

102540 No.2331

Not for the conventionally minded.

Morality is just a feeling of right and wrong, so a god is not required to satisfy this. Invoking morality can even be compared to invoking a god to justify a rule. This is the rule because god said so. This is the rule because it is moral.

So here's the thing, why do we need the concept of morality at all? One of the best aspects of atheism is that it frees one from moral obligation. So why do so many atheists go back to chain themselves down to this concept? As long as you don't get caught you can do anything so why pay lip service to this concept at all instead of working to debunk it? Ethics are much like a god for these atheists so it seems like they have traded religion for another. In this way secular humanism is a belief system with its own set of rules and values. Like the responsibility we have to each other for example. There is no such thing, we choose any and all responsibility, it is not objective. There is no rule to how to treat others, there are only physical laws that determine how interaction will result. Cutting a person will make them bleed for example, it doesn't say that cutting is wrong just that they will bleed. If your objective is to make them bleed this is exactly what you want to do, if your objective is to prevent bleeding keep the knife away. But just because you may have a gut reaction of disgust to cutting someone does not validate it as anything other than your feeling. Just because thoughts are the result of logical physical processes does not make the result one where logic is properly processed. One only needs to look at the results of math tests to see this. Math is as objective as it gets, there's either an answer, range or DNE based on pure logic and computation. Yet brains will still fuck this up. So cutting someone is neither wrong or right, only according to subjective rules that someone made up.

e6ffcc No.2333

In the end nobody knows what's up and it all comes down to asking yourself why you do what you do. You want to survive. Why? Because you feel you should. You go by feelings ultimately also, you're no different than anyone else. As logical as you think math is, why are you doing it? To survive because you *feel* you should. Everyone has their own morality. You're telling everyone what's right and wrong on how to live, that's morality. It's not necessarily having to do with being kind. Only because being kind or the golden rule is often associated with morality.

If doing things because you feel you should is for retards, if that's what you're implying, why make this post, retard?

This faux intellectual bullshit some atheists try to display and faux euphoric intellectual bullshit some religious people display infests the internet like aids. Think a bit before you post. Not everyone has time to teach edgy kids all the time.

102540 No.2336

>>2333
>You want to survive. Why? Because you feel you should.
Well consider that this is all you know you have, to give it up is an objective loss as you have no evidence there is another life. For what we know it can be concluded you are losing your existence in so doing. Thus it can be argued it's illogical to not want to survive.

>You're telling everyone what's right and wrong on how to live

Nowhere do I say this.

>If doing things because you feel you should is for retards, if that's what you're implying, why make this post, retard?

Relax, there's no point in getting so upset. And no, that's not it at all. I never said anything against doing things that you feel is wrong or for retards. Ultimately as rational as we may be we have a limbic system. Now what I was saying is invoking some concept to hide the fact that the only reason you're doing something is feeling is stupid. Just say this makes me feel unhappy, that's better justification than morality as we can't determine what that is. But we can determine that for instance drowning puppies makes you sad.

>Think a bit before you post.

Great projection, you totally missed what I was trying to say and posted with much salt. Relax, it's important to challenge conventional morality, do not take refuge in consensus. We don't acknowledge evolution is true based on consensus we do because of the evidence. Such scrutiny is never put to morality, society takes it for granted.

72b32d No.2339

In my opinion good morality is when something survives because of what they have done.

If we help each other and don't be dicks and kill people, we survive, everyone wins. This is good, no one wants to die (well at least the majority), and as surviving mechanisms every effort we put towards survival to the human race is something good.

102540 No.2340

>>2339
Ideally this is undeniable, the argument is an action that results in a world which is better for everyone is better. But we all know this isn't how the world operates because of things like scarcity, weak links, etc.

Like with the golden rule that was brought up, it's a nice idea but I can gain a lot more personal wealth by swindling people than I could through sharing.

Then what about those instances like the trolley and rails scenario? Kill 1 to save 5. Or kill one garbageman to save an engineer.

That's another problem I see with morality, it's too restrictive. I'd rather not be chained down and just do as I see please. After all morality is pleasing myself but what about when what is the general framework contradicts with how I feel at that instance? It's better to have no morality then.

21e91b No.2342

>>2331
>Morality is just a feeling of right and wrong
I would say more than a feeling, it's a set of beliefs and values.

>Invoking morality can even be compared to invoking a god to justify a rule. This is the rule because god said so. This is the rule because it is moral.

Well I subscribe to more of an Aristotelian eudaimonistic virtue ethics, so it's less about rules and more like "This is the sort of behavior that will allow me (and any other human) to live the best, happiest life and get along with others who want to do the same, therefore it is moral". I guess if you don't want to be happy then you don't have a reason to be moral, but I never met anyone who didn't. Morality (and I think my use of the term is related both to the concept's origin and implicit purpose) has been a useful philosophical concept since the beginning of mankind, so useful that, like many other philosophical concepts, people have always had to accept it in some form or another even when they had trouble defining or defending it, which is why you often see "morality" being tossed around arbitrarily or dogmatically.

(Note: doing what makes you the most happy is not the same as acting on feeling or whim since what will maximize your happiness if often, though not always, different from what you feel like doing. Quitting smoking, for instance, might be in a person's best interest but not something they want to do.)

>we choose any and all responsibility, it is not objective.

So you admit we do have responsibilities, just not unchosen ones?

>>2336
>Just say this makes me feel unhappy, that's better justification than morality as we can't determine what that is. But we can determine that for instance drowning puppies makes you sad.
This is similar, but not quite the kind of justification that I am getting at. Neither I nor Aristotle care much about animal rights, but a virtue ethicist who did might argue that drowning puppies will necessarily make you a less empathetic person which may harm your relationships with other people (IIRC Kant says something along these lines). In this way every action should be viewed in context, not just of how the action itself makes you feel or how it will effect the world and other people, but how it will change and effect your own identity.

>We don't acknowledge evolution is true based on consensus we do because of the evidence. Such scrutiny is never put to morality, society takes it for granted.

Society might, but to imply that philosophers don't scrutinize moral theories is clearly false.

>>2340
>the argument is an action that results in a world which is better for everyone is better. But we all know this isn't how the world operates because of things like scarcity, weak links, etc.
Not always, unfortunately but I think more often than not it is possible to find solutions that are agreeable to everyone (or at least everyone willing to listen to reason which is good enough) so this anon is mostly right >>2339 although I think the value of "the human race" as such is dubious.

>I can gain a lot more personal wealth by swindling people than I could through sharing.

Perhaps, but is greater wealth more important than the values that could be gained by sharing or at least dealing honestly? Aside from trust and good faith, there's an inner peace to be gained through honesty. Bernie Madoff was pretty a pretty successful thief (until he wasn't) but he's talked about how he's actually happier in prison because he no longer has to live in fear of getting caught. He's already caught
http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Canada%20-%20World/News/2011-10-27/article-2787448/Bernie-Madoff-has-remorse-but-happy-in-prison-no-suicide-thoughts-says-interviewer-Walters/1

>Then what about those instances like the trolley and rails scenario? Kill 1 to save 5. Or kill one garbageman to save an engineer.

Certainly those are serious questions, but not a reason to discard morality. If anything, a reason to study it more deeply.

>That's another problem I see with morality, it's too restrictive. I'd rather not be chained down and just do as I see please.

That's your problem, you see morality as a ball and chain when it should be viewed as a set of useful tools. It's like if someone said "Logic is too restrictive. I'd rather not be chained down and just believe what I want." Ethics doesn't limit your choices, it simply helps you make them!

>After all morality is pleasing myself but what about when what is the general framework contradicts with how I feel at that instance? It's better to have no morality then.

See the quitting smoking example above.

102540 No.2344

>>2342
Good stuff. So many valid points.

>it's a set of beliefs and values.

Which when you get right to it are chosen through feelings that are post-rationalized.

>"This is the sort of behavior that will allow me (and any other human) to live the best, happiest life and get along with others who want to do the same, therefore it is moral"

Aren't you imposing rules upon yourself when you restrict your behaviors to this set?

>I guess if you don't want to be happy then you don't have a reason to be moral

I find rules or restricted behaviors limit my experience which often does limit bad experience but it can also limit good experiences which result in happiness.

>Morality (and I think my use of the term is related both to the concept's origin and implicit purpose) has been a useful philosophical concept since the beginning of mankind

I think morality was devised as a means of control because when our ancestors brains started forming they needed justification for action, the notion that something just is came much later, hence why it is so important.

>(Note: doing what makes you the most happy is not the same as acting on feeling or whim since what will maximize your happiness if often, though not always, different from what you feel like doing. Quitting smoking, for instance, might be in a person's best interest but not something they want to do.)

Absolutely sometimes immediate happiness contradicts with your long term best interest. So is happiness even the thing we should strive for or objective gain?

>So you admit we do have responsibilities, just not unchosen ones?

If you choose no responsibility you have no responsibility.

>In this way every action should be viewed in context, not just of how the action itself makes you feel or how it will effect the world and other people, but how it will change and effect your own identity.

No argument here, I'm more going at personal morality. Always keep in mind how others will react to your actions as that does impact your wellbeing. Drown a puppy and PETA might try to drown you.

>Society might, but to imply that philosophers don't scrutinize moral theories is clearly false.

Society needs ethics clearly fixed or it might undergo chaos. But yeah certain philosophers have gone great lengths to scrutinize morals, and I'm sorry for implying otherwise.

> but I think more often than not it is possible to find solutions that are agreeable to everyone

Idk land disputes are a great example. You give the land to one the other gets mad and vice versa. You split the land and they're still disappoint because it isn't 100%. Compromise may be agreeable but I'd be happier with all that land.

>Aside from trust and good faith, there's an inner peace to be gained through honesty.

Sure, but what if the scenario was such that you couldn't possibly get caught? Such a fear wouldn't be there unless one was really paranoid. Maddoff may not have gotten away with it but then look at Dick Fuld, that cat made it off like the king of bandits in front of everyone.

>It's like if someone said "Logic is too restrictive. I'd rather not be chained down and just believe what I want." Ethics doesn't limit your choices, it simply helps you make them!

But logic is why my computer works, it's a restriction I have to live with if I want to know anything, engineer anything, etc. Morality and ethics are useful to know because they help you navigate the social landscape but unlike logic you don't need to restrict yourself to morals in how you think. You can be the most conventionally immoral person ever but pretend to be moral in public.

03e2f8 No.2347

File: 1423362774968.jpg (89.14 KB, 600x728, 75:91, Edgemaster.jpg)

Alright I'll try to answer the edge master's questions.

>>2331
Why do humans need morality? For survival. Like beauty, evil is only in the eye of the beholder. Beauty and morality are subjective, and they are also instinctual. The instinctual concept of beauty is supposed to help you find a suitable mate. Humans are presocial, having a strong community is usually very important to our survival.

>Why do atheists chain themselves to morality

Because the benefit gained from being moral and being around moral people often out way benefit of acting immoral.

>Why not just be immoral and not get caught?

Thinks every criminal ever. There's a difference between PLANNING to not get caught and not getting caught. Even the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

>Being moral is just like being in a religion

No. Just no.

Atheists just realize morality is subjective. That doesn't mean we should forgo it. I for one think the safety and technology are worth it.

102540 No.2382

File: 1423379514516.gif (924.57 KB, 500x281, 500:281, hatred-gore-gameplay2.gif)

>>2347
Sorry for the delay in responding, been studying control theory all night. And I apologize if my replies are not that prompt throughout this week, I probably should've posted this during reading week.

Also I'm going to sound edgy as fuck throughout this, so here's a trigger warning.

>Why do humans need morality? For survival.

Often morality contradicts survival. For instance say you did something wrong and can be punished by death, no one is on to you yet but the conventionally moral thing to do is come clean and put your life at risk in so doing. Another is doing conventionally immoral things like stealing, but if you succeed you are wealthier and the more wealth you own the better your survivability as you can pay for better food, healthcare, etc. Then, and this is going to sound edgy but fuck it, lets say you could kill every believer on the planet and effectively resulting in a society that is completely dedicated to the pursuit of science and technology. No more impediments to science from religious cranks having any part in the voting process. Shiny red button scenario. Now conventional morality says this is a big no no but the results would be the greatest thing that could happen for reason. We would never have to deal with these idiots in the volume they are now ever again, sure we'd have one or two cranks born every so often but society wouldn't be so skewed to protecting faith and other forms of irrationality. Science would develop at an excelled pace leading to better healthcare improving survival and so on. All thanks to us putting aside this morality that is valued so highly.

Another thing is survival is the goal why not just have survival be the goal in itself? Why drag morality into this?

>Because the benefit gained from being moral and being around moral people often out way benefit of acting immoral.

You just need to look at Wall St to know this is not true. You can gain so much more befriending immoral people, you just need to watch your back. Morality, especially conventional, is often costly as it demands personal sacrifice for the good of others.

>Thinks every criminal ever. There's a difference between PLANNING to not get caught and not getting caught. Even the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

Indeed. But like with high risk stocks the potential payout is so much greater. That's why people are drawn to crime, it's lucrative.

>No. Just no.

It's not exactly the same. But there are parallels between religion and morality.

Religion is a set of beliefs, rituals and rules or guidelines about the universe, including what is right and wrong. I'd be hard pressed to find one religion that does not have a moral code. Also atheism isn't a religion as it's not a belief. Now morality is a set of rules or guidelines on what one believes is right and wrong. Both morality and religion have their basis in belief and both are about how to properly conduct yourself according to said guidelines. In a way morality is the purest form of religion without the gods and whatever to muck it up, it's just the guideline on what is believed to be right and wrong and how to act in a moral fashion.

102540 No.2383

File: 1423379537558.jpg (11.68 KB, 259x194, 259:194, 6a4.jpg)

>>2382
cont


>and technology are worth it.

I'm radical in my pursuit for technological progress; only valuing myself, close friends and family above technology. Now society is becoming more and more automated and that raises many moral questions. Since automation is cheaper to run and results in greater yields than human labor the question comes down to what next? Lets say the average machine outputs like 50 humans but humans need energy to survive. Who gets the energy (or food, etc). If rapid progress is what we want (like I want) the logical choice is to throw them under the bus but that's not very conventionally moral. Then there is shit like tax money going to help drug addicts which won't contribute anything to the development of technology, if they even end up working at Taco Bell is debatable, but that money could be going straight to R&D instead of doing the conventionally moral thing. The point is being moral does not equate to increasing the rate at which technology is developed. In some cases it does like helping a gifted poor kid have breakfast everyday so they can go on to become a mathematician or something but it's a case by case basis sorta thing. Not every poor kid has the ability to contribute to the development of technology and their breakfast money could be put to better use going to R&D.

Also safety, lets consider genuinely high risk infectious disease outbreaks. Conventional morality would state that we should risk our lives to save the infected but we in turn put ourselves at risk in so doing. There's risk in getting them into quarantine and risk with maintain quarantine protocol, fuck even Ebola highlighted that risk in a developed country though it was small in comparison to what I'm discussing now. Could you imagine an airborne virus (not just aerosolizeable) with the same symptoms and high death rates? Conventional morality be damned, fire bomb the affected areas. I'm not going to risk my life for morals. It's not worth it.

026b63 No.2384

>>2331
>a feeling of right and wrong
>trying to debunk it
It's just another empty word, nothing to debunk.

>As long as you don't get caught

>implying getting caught was not part of my master plan

>>2383
Wait, are you just complaining about humanism? Because even with morality, you have options.

102540 No.2385

>>2384
>Wait, are you just complaining about humanism?
Partially. I'm trying to kill all these birds with one stone.

026b63 No.2387

>>2385
Look at what's already been mentioned as desirable ITT: survival, safety, technology, happiness. Like with theism, when the words are more specific than this, then there may be discussion.

The most specific ones were >>2342 without any specific happiness specified and >>2347 with safety from something.

e6ffcc No.2391

>>2331

I'm just as edgy as you, OP, only normal. My basic tenet is that nothing tells a man what he can or can't do other than what he can or can't do.

Now ask yourself why you don't do as you wish. Now you'll discover why we have reasons we're kind to people, generally, and why we have laws. Not treating each other like shit makes sense.

Read up on Game Theory. Still, even if we were all assholes to each other and entirely selfish, society would adjust to something that worked.

03e2f8 No.2405

File: 1423433447258.png (190.12 KB, 373x327, 373:327, Edgy.png)

>>2382
>Often morality contradicts survival.
Wow, your thinking is just ass backwards. It's easier to survive in a society where everyone is moral, than it is in a society where everyone is immoral. Sure, stealing adds more to your wealth and chances of survival, but being stolen from takes away from your survival chances.

Morality is about doing things to help the society and not doing things that hurt the society, so the society can survive. Society is a tool used by presocial animals to help them survive. As in, you act moral to improve society because society helps you survive.

>You just need to look at Wall St to know this is not true.

Cherry picking. Just because immorality pays for some, doesn't mean it's always the best course of action. Also, notice how I used the word 'often', we're not dealing in absolutes.

>like with high risk stocks the potential payout is so much greater. That's why people are drawn to crime, it's lucrative.

True, but stupid people are drawn more to gambling because they don't have a firm grasp of the concept of odds. Stupid people are also drawn more to a life of crime.

>there are parallels between religion and morality.

Not really. Religion uses people sense of morality to help control them. Religion is just a political tool. Some political groups, like religions, will try to use peoples sense of morality to control them. Although, a healthy dose of skepticism can make that difficult. That's why secular humanism isn't like a religion, it isn't dogmatic morality.

Morality in it's purist form is an instinctual sense of right and wrong. It's not a defined objective thing, as presented like religion.

>>2383
>Technology
Seams like that point went WAY over your head. So, let me explain it better.

Technology is the result of science. Science isn't the result of one persons work, but a commonalty effort (standing on the shoulders of giants). It requires a society to work. Morality helps build a stable society. In fact you could say being a scientist IS moral, sacrificing your own time on mundane research in hopes that one day someone will use it to better society and make life easier for everyone.

Also, human's high intelligence is a result of our presocialness, which is where our moral instinct comes from. Because how long it takes a human to grow outside of a womb, we would have went extinct without a sense of morality.

You seam to be nitpicking this or that about morality instead of looking at the whole picture for what it is. Also, what's up with these questions? You sound like a 13 year old just stumbled upon philosophy, or someone who is somewhat autistic and I don't mean that in the typical chan insult way who just can't wrap their head around how a society works. Maybe you're just a troll from /christian/ who can't figure out why atheists aren't crazy immoral psychopaths? Seriously, what's with all the edges?

102540 No.2413

File: 1423440647850.png (94.43 KB, 371x371, 1:1, 153.png)

>>2405
>Wow, your thinking is just ass backwards. It's easier to survive in a society where everyone is moral, than it is in a society where everyone is immoral.
Not necessarily as has been pointed out with the infectious disease outbreak scenario such a society could eliminate itself for the sake of its morals. You're just so stuck in this conventional box you can't think outside of it.

>Morality is about doing things to help the society and not doing things that hurt the society, so the society can survive. Society is a tool used by presocial animals to help them survive. As in, you act moral to improve society because society helps you survive.

Yeah but when society's survival conflicts with your own and this does happen what then? Here you admit that you should only be moral when you get something out of it and I agree with that. But why be moral why not just have logical rules in place for the survival of society? Why make up this concept when all you can say is the reason why murder is illegal is because it would result in chaos otherwise? Not to sound like a 13 year old but morality is invoked much like when parents can't explain to their kids why a rule is in place so they say because my house my rules. Society's morality society's rules.

>Cherry picking.

Just using an example for a proof by contradiction. Well not really a proof in the strict sense but for the purpose of this it's good enough. I don't need to test superposition when I have proven the system isn't homogenous to know it's not linear. Morality isn't much of a guideline when it fails it supposed purpose in an example and I gave many throughout that post.

>Just because immorality pays for some, doesn't mean it's always the best course of action.

Agreed but likewise just because morality pays for some, doesn't mean it's always the best course of action.

>True, but stupid people are drawn more to gambling because they don't have a firm grasp of the concept of odds.

Crime isn't the same as gambling, a lot of intelligent criminals make calculated risks that work out very nicely for them. Thanks for playing, try again. Also a lot of stupid people are drawn to crime since stupid people tend to be poor and have no other option except a shitty mcjob so they have nothing to lose.

>Religion is just a political tool.

So is morality and you admitted this when you said morality is required for society's stability. Just like religious experience is traced back to neural circuits so is morality the same, not the same circuits. It's there to be exploited.

>Although, a healthy dose of skepticism can make that difficult. That's why secular humanism isn't like a religion, it isn't dogmatic morality.

LOL, that's why secular humanists bend over backwards for Islam right? I'm sorry but you picked the wrong ideology if you like skepticism, their skepticism ends with Christards. Secular humanism while it does reject god is based in belief, that all humans are practically sacred. This isn't explicitly said but when you get right to it that's what humanists believe in.

>Morality in it's purist form is an instinctual sense of right and wrong. It's not a defined objective thing, as presented like religion.

It doesn't matter if you admit to morality is subjective, it is still used in arguments just like a skywizard. As has been stated before: My skywizard says X is wrong. My morality tells me X is wrong. In fact religious people admit their belief is subjective when they say I believe in x. They just haven't thought it through enough like with everything else. They contradict themselves when they say their belief is objective. My subjective opinion tells me X is objective is what they say.

102540 No.2414

File: 1423440707900.jpg (35.6 KB, 600x600, 1:1, 120.jpg)

>>2413
cont


>Seams like that point went WAY over your head.

Much projection on your part. You still can't grasp thinking outside convention. I pity you.

>Technology is the result of science. Science isn't the result of one persons work, but a commonalty effort (standing on the shoulders of giants).

Duh, the peer review process and accumulation. Though if it wasn't for those individual giants the community would develop at a snail's pace. It's really the breakthroughs of a few that have developed science, the rest are disposable.

> It requires a society to work.

Actually it just requires following the method and some peers.

>Morality helps build a stable society.

Really it is need for cooperation, you don't need morals as much as you need to have a need to cooperate. Also stability is not necessarily a good thing, look at China for example. Their society traded advancement for stability and is why Europe and not China went on to industrialize first.

>In fact you could say being a scientist IS moral, sacrificing your own time on mundane research in hopes that one day someone will use it to better society and make life easier for everyone.

That depends on the goals of the particular scientist, plenty don't care about society but care about discovery or developing something for themselves. Their intention may not be for society at all so the idea that they are sacrificing themselves for you and society is misplaced.

>human's high intelligence is a result of our presocialness

Nope, it is the result of a complex brain. In fact the Neanderthals developed the first industrial process and were practically autistic. But that's autism, not morality. There are many argument regarding their intelligence in comparison but it's hard to say since we don't know their brain architecture and we can't based that on skulls, their equivalent of the fore brain could've receded further back. They may have had a smaller concentration of motor neurons, etc, etc. But I digress, what about when we start developing strong AI? I doubt it will need morality to think on a level higher than us, it would be an extra subprocess we add so it submits to us like moral sheep.

Also strong AI and automation will make society obsolete. If such a system is designed properly it will be able to do all the functions of society for an individual this replacing the need that individual has for society. Think about this: fully automated, seal-repairing space ship that only needs solar power to run. Food, water, gases are all cycled maybe with a self sustaining algae-bacteria cocultre life-support system. Automated medical bay with life extension technology. AI run entertainment system that makes its own games. You wouldn't need anyone after this point.

> Because how long it takes a human to grow outside of a womb, we would have went extinct without a sense of morality.

Nope this has everything to do with kin selection, not morality.

>You seam to be nitpicking this or that about morality instead of looking at the whole picture for what it is.

See this is why everything I said has gone over your head. I'm going a "proof" (yeah it's not a legit proof more thought experiment) by contradiction. I have demonstrated that in many case morality does not only impede but is out right detrimental to the goals you specified.

>Also, what's up with these questions?

Oh you don't like inquiry is that it? Everyone who asks questions is an autistic 13 year old or christard pretending to be atheist?

> and I don't mean that in the typical chan insult way who just can't wrap their head around how a society works. Maybe you're just a troll from /christian/ who can't figure out why atheists aren't crazy immoral psychopaths? Seriously, what's with all the edges?

Dude, I'm just stepping outside conventional thinking and trying to explore new ways of thinking abut things if this offends you I'm sorry. You can go on drumming like you're some skeptic but never really scrutinizing those ideas you hold close to you. Just like every other humanists you don't want to honestly investigate the worth of others, no one one must dare question the sacredness of humanity.

And I know why you guys are the way you are, you're slaves to your empathy. You're not able to reject primitive instinct but instead post-rationalize it.

inb4 uncontrollable empathy is great
Sure having a backdoor exploit so any eloquent sociopath can manipulate you is such a benefit. Yeah emotional gullibility is great.

Anyway I'll get back to you some time later this week or maybe next week, I have many midterms and shit to focus on now.

b9a549 No.2417

File: 1423441642842.jpg (27.5 KB, 283x400, 283:400, image.jpg)

Apostate here. What is wrong with trying to keep to the Golden rule? Were you not loved enough? Has not a single person loved you your entire life? The benefit of doing good onto others even if there is less gain for yourself is knowledge you were responsible, and with any luck if you're down on your luck someone just like you out there will repay the debt you gave to society. It also makes for a society where neighbors do not throw their rubbish on your lawn.

Some of your examples are absurd like. For instance your first post says cutting people is not wrong, and then you justify it with mumbo-jumbo. Wherever you go taking the life of an innocent is considered wrong, unless you can find an excuse like it was an accident, or I was trying to save someone else. There are aspects that are nearly universal.

102540 No.2418

>>2417
I was loved, that's why I wouldn't throw away my love for those who don't deserve it and insult those who do by loving everyone. If you love everyone you actually love no one as love is the acknowledgement that someone means more to you than another. If everyone is loved equally, no one is loved. That's what it means to like something, it has to be related to another in your fondness for it.

>even if there is less gain for yourself is knowledge you were responsible

That's down right reckless.

> and with any luck if you're down on your luck someone just like you out there will repay the debt you gave to society

I know not to count on this from experience.

>justify it with mumbo-jumbo.

Kek'd

>Wherever you go taking the life of an innocent is considered wrong

Sparta? They made great warriors on the skulls of innocent dead babies. Every single soldier is innocent, they only enlisted which is not a criminal offense but killing them is encouraged. You can find more exceptions if you look close enough.


Anyway I better get back to study.

b9a549 No.2421


>i was loved and wouldn't love someone who didn't deserve it. (Not even a little!). I must get something out of every relationship. Loving some more than others is hypocritical and I don't believe in love.


Okay I now think you're either a troll or a terrible person. You would make an awful, unsupportive parent, and I wouldn't have anything to do with you if I met you irl.

>sparta

Don't drag exceptions like eugenics into this when you try to refute my central point - the murder of innocents was seen as bad. We all know the Spartans killed burdonesome deformed babies. Clearly they didn't see the child as having a life worth protecting until it passed the wine soaking test.

>Inb4 spartans would also sometimes kill slaves while looting the countryside during training, but they saw those people as less than human.


The rule still stands as universal, even in the most tribal societies. Killing innocents, and especially killing equals, has been frowned upon.

36bd03 No.2434

File: 1423451934009.jpg (21.78 KB, 640x360, 16:9, 640px-Nina38.jpg)

>>2331
Well, morality matters, because it is the conduct that is supposed to let both the individual and its species survive in the best way possible.
Morality is an evolutionary byproduct.

I've been an atheist again for about a month now, but what you propose is morally and thus evolutionary bankrupt, dear speciecider.

03e2f8 No.2439

File: 1423452555506.jpg (59.45 KB, 777x432, 259:144, EdgyMotherfucker.jpg)

>>2413
>Not necessarily as has been pointed out with the infectious disease outbreak scenario such a society could eliminate itself for the sake of its morals.
Well, morality is a trait gained from our evolution. Like anything evolved, what helps us survive can be turned against us by changes in our environment. Then we must adapt or perish. In our current environment however, morality helps us survive. Thus, the scenario you've cooked up is pointless.
>You're just so stuck in this conventional box you can't think outside of it.
Careful with those edges.

>Yeah but when society's survival conflicts with your own and this does happen what then?

Then you're fucked.
>why be moral why not just have logical rules in place for the survival of society?
Having logical rules in place for the survival of society would be moral.
>Society's morality society's rules.
Living outside of society would suck though.

>Well not really a proof in the strict sense but for the purpose of this it's good enough.

No, it's not.
>Morality isn't much of a guideline when it fails it supposed purpose in an example and I gave many throughout that post.
That doesn't prove anything. Other than you can't grasp a simple concept.

>morality pays for some, doesn't mean it's always the best course of action.

Yeah, but it usually is. Another anon pointed out how it's like game theory.

>Crime isn't the same as gambling

It's a lot like gambling.
>intelligent criminals make calculated risks that work out very nicely for them.
True, smarter people make better criminals, but still a big risk no matter what.
>poor and have no other option except a shitty mcjob so they have nothing to lose.
True.
>stupid people tend to be poor
Nah. Sure, they're less likely to be well educated, but still. Money doesn't make your brain work better.

>So is morality

Morality precedes politics. Religion, by nature, is part of politics. Most presocial animals have a instinctual sense of morality. It's very primal. Before start trying to argue semantics, by 'politics' I mean, of course, state politics.
>religious experience is traced back to neural circuits so is morality the same
So can rational thought. Is this supposed to be a point?
>It's there to be exploited.
Anything can be exploited. Morality doesn't exist solely to be exploited.

>that's why secular humanists bend over backwards for Islam right? I'm sorry but you picked the wrong ideology if you like skepticism

Nice straw man argument faggot.
Richard Dawkins is a secular humanist and a skeptic, and he's very critical or Islam. Just like most secular humanists and skeptics. It seams like you've confused secular humanists with SJWs.

>My skywizard says X is wrong. My morality tells me X is wrong.

One's dogmatic and one's not. How are you not getting that?

03e2f8 No.2440

File: 1423452634337.jpg (272.72 KB, 900x600, 3:2, so edgy.jpg)

>>2414
>You still can't grasp thinking outside convention. I pity you.
Implying implications

>Though if it wasn't for those individual giants the community would develop at a snail's pace.

Maybe, but without the community the individual giants wouldn't have done anything.
>It's really the breakthroughs of a few that have developed science, the rest are disposable.
No, everyone needs play their part, everyone from the stars to the extras.

>Actually it just requires following the method and some peers.

Which require a society.

>you don't need morals as much as you need to have a need to cooperate.

Morals help people cooperate.
> Their society traded advancement for stability
Sure, you can have stability without advancement, but you can't have advancement without stability.

>plenty don't care about society but care about discovery or developing something for themselves.

Other people could find it moral. I'm not saying the scientists themselves would necessarily find it moral, even though some would.

>Nope, it is the result of a complex brain.

I marvel at how the point gallantly flies over your tiny pseudo intellectual mind. Because of our complex brains we're born less devolved than most animals. We need a presocial society to be raised, so we can survive. The presocialness came first, and allowed for our large complex brains to evolve. Not sure why you brought up Neanderthals they were presocial too.

>Nope this has everything to do with kin selection, not morality.

Kin selection is part of morality.

>I'm going a "proof" (yeah it's not a legit proof more thought experiment) by contradiction. I have demonstrated that in many case morality does not only impede but is out right detrimental to the goals you specified.

Your shit tier 'thought experiments' don't prove or demonstrate anything. They're just biased what if scenarios.

>Everyone who asks questions is an autistic 13 year old or christard pretending to be atheist?

I said THESE question. As in, the questions, that YOU are asking specifically. Reading is hard huh?

>I'm just stepping outside conventional thinking and trying to explore new ways of thinking

Be careful, you don't want to break your arm patting yourself on the back.
>if this offends you I'm sorry.
Nah, that doesn't offend me.
>You can go on drumming like you're some skeptic but never really scrutinizing those ideas you hold close to you.
What you're doing, reinforcing your own preconceptions and beliefs with 'what if' scenarios of your own invention, is not skepticism. What I'm doing, answering the question of why humans have a concept of morality what it's purpose is by examining human evolution, is skepticism.
>no one one must dare question the sacredness of humanity.
said no secular humanist ever.

>And I know why you guys are the way you are, you're slaves to your empathy. You're not able to reject primitive instinct but instead post-rationalize it.

Wow, so edgy.

Seriously, it does feel like I'm talking to a kid, an autist and/or a troll. For real though, how old are you? Because if you're not in middle/high school, then you probably have some kind of neurological disorder.

102540 No.2450

File: 1423458995011.jpg (25.94 KB, 338x400, 169:200, Marilyn Manson Holy Wood.jpg)

>>2421
>i was loved and wouldn't love someone who didn't deserve it. (Not even a little!). I must get something out of every relationship.
Dat cucksplaining, there's no point in being in relationships where you get nothing out of them. That's the worst thing you couldn't do to yourself is put yourself in the position where you just give and they just take. Relationships should be from mutual benefit.

>You would make an awful, unsupportive parent, and I wouldn't have anything to do with you if I met you irl.

Except that my child deserves my love as it is passing on my genes.

>Don't drag exceptions

Morality can't handle exceptions, which was my point.

>Killing innocents, and especially killing equals, has been frowned upon.

Didn't stop them from doing it. Just because they don't value those people as people doesn't change the fact that they were innocent people. They just found a loophole, funny if morality is so great why does everyone look for a loophole?

>>2434
>both the individual and its species survive in the best way possible.
Sometimes these contradict. My survival could depend on throwing the rest of you under a bus. I went about this at length throughout this thread, you can see my points above.

>Morality is an evolutionary byproduct.

So is Huntington's.

102540 No.2451

File: 1423459197293.jpg (289.21 KB, 1600x1088, 25:17, Bismuth-crystal-cristallo.jpg)

>>2439
>Well, morality is a trait gained from our evolution.
So is Tay Sachs.

>Then we must adapt or perish. In our current environment however, morality helps us survive. Thus, the scenario you've cooked up is pointless.

No, because that scenario is about a possible change in the ever changing environment. I'm talking about being adaptable, you're talking about restricting yourself for some bullshit like morality so you aren't. You see you're not as adaptable as I because your head is stuck in the moral box and can't fathom anything beyond it - it's just edgy.

>Having logical rules in place for the survival of society would be moral.

No it would be logical. Like killing off the religious, but that's not moral.

>That doesn't prove anything.

Not in the strict sense, but I don't have time for mathematical proofs right now. But for a guideline to be worth anything it shouldn't fail under so many scenarios.

Also you're so far from the actual definition of proof too so if I'm letting you go by with these poor standards you can let me have the same coutesy. FFS this is 8chan, not a scientific journal.

>Other than you can't grasp a simple concept.

Such projective Dunning Kruger.

> like game theory.

Lets look at the prisoner's dilemma. It illustrates my point so well. Given one moral prisoner and one immoral prisoner, the immoral one will be set free while the other will stay in prison.

>Money doesn't make your brain work better.

Better food, better upbringing, all these things influence better brain development. And even then the dumber you the more difficulty you have in making money.

>Morality precedes politics.

No, political groups often enough come to power on one set of morals only to impose another all the time.

>So can rational thought. Is this supposed to be a point?

Except that rational thought is not exploitable otherwise it's not rational or the information is incomplete or faulty.

>Richard Dawkins is a secular humanist and a skeptic, and he's very critical or Islam. Just like most secular humanists and skeptics.

He, Sam Harris, Hitchens, Maher are among the minority who criticize Islam, most humanists are too afraid of being called racist. Secular humanists put humanity over reason in most cases. It is a balancing act between reason and a weird sort of non-theistic human sacredness.

You guys find it immoral to outlaw religion or kill the religious, two things that would be the greatest thing for reason ever, even commies were better than humanists though they had Lysenko. Now why is that? Because all human life is sacred according to you guys. And it's not like two faced politicians either who preach one thing to do another you guys actually believe the religious deserve to be amongst us.

102540 No.2452

File: 1423459364455.png (65.96 KB, 663x717, 221:239, you don't seem to believe ….png)

>>2451
cont


>One's dogmatic and one's not. How are you not getting that?

Dogma is a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.

There's a pretty good example above where someone tries to justify killing innocents as incontrovertibly wrong by authorities.

It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology or belief system, and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system's paradigm, or the ideology itself.

Perfect, negate the value of humans and there goes humanism.

Humanism is dogma like every ism.

>Maybe, but without the community the individual giants wouldn't have done anything.

Often the community suppressed those giants: Galileo et al. It could be argued they would've done more without this community.

>No, everyone needs play their part, everyone from the stars to the extras.

You can always replace extras, they are expendable hence why they're extras.

>Which require a society.

Actually those peers make a society.

>Morals help people cooperate.

No they can get in the way. Look at today's oversensitive moral environment where shit like Donglegate happens. If people didn't care about the feelings of others but just focused on the topic at hand we wouldn't have wasted time that could've went into developing Python.

>Sure, you can have stability without advancement, but you can't have advancement without stability.

War proves this wrong. War is probably the least stable time and yet there are so many advancements.

>I marvel at how the point gallantly flies over your tiny pseudo intellectual mind.

If I'm pseudo-intellectual you're anti-intellectual.

>The presocialness came first, and allowed for our large complex brains to evolve.

That's what happened, but that's history. Our intelligence is a result of our complexity which is a result of various things that happened prehistorically.

But notice how you left out the part about AI, it's too scary for you isn't it? The thought that something could be pure logic devoid of vestigial traits like empathy.

>Kin selection is part of morality.

No it is not, it is not based on belief of right and wrong. Species that aren't even conscious work according to Hamilton's rule. Morality requires consciousness.

>Your shit tier 'thought experiments' don't prove or demonstrate anything. They're just biased what if scenarios.

So much salt, of course they're biased. The whole point is to find scenarios where applying your morality will not work out very well.

>What you're doing, reinforcing your own preconceptions and beliefs with 'what if' scenarios of your own invention, is not skepticism

I have no beliefs, you're the one here who believes in morality, son. I'm just testing to see if morality hold water and it doesn't as it has failed all my what if scenarios.

See I'm an atheist when it comes to morality, I have no beliefs of right and wrong.

>What I'm doing, answering the question of why humans have a concept of morality what it's purpose is by examining human evolution, is skepticism.

No you're reinforcing your faith in morality by dodging questions that question you morality. That's far from skepticism, here you are bitching about questions. You've bitched about inquiry in the last few posts. Just because that inquiry does not come to the results you're looking for, support in your moral hogwash.

>said no secular humanist ever.

Not directly, humanists believe life is not just about us but I see no proof of this. Strictly as far as I know for sure I'm the only conscious one but that's getting off track. Even if you are conscious (you probably are) believing my life is also for you is a belief. Until there is a sequitur argument why my life is for others humanism is a belief just as much as Christinsanity and Islam and all that stupid irrational shit.

>Seriously, it does feel like I'm talking to a kid, an autist and/or a troll. For real though, how old are you? Because if you're not in middle/high school, then you probably have some kind of neurological disorder.

I feel so bad for you, slave to silly concepts like morality. Seriously if we're gonna talk about disorders empathy is up there. You feel bad just because someone else does, that's a disease. You at any time can have your state of mind depressed because someone else feels that way while I can just recognize they're upset and go about my business. I can mimic the empathetic response if needed while you can't control yourself.


Anyway I'll be gone to for the week, don't get too upset that your status quo is being challenged and doesn't hold up to scrutiny.

03e2f8 No.2468

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.
>>2451
>>2452
Holy shit, those are some terrible arguments. At first, when I read the OP, I was like 'OP is an edgy weirdo, but maybe there's a decent conversation to be had here'. However, after reading these last two posts I realize you're devoid of basic logic and reason, and there isn't going to be decent conversation on your part. So, I'm not spending another 30 mins how long it took me to write my last two posts on a response. Also, you never said how old you were, and you never denied having neurological disorder. To me, this confirms you are indeed some combination of underage, autist/crazy, and troll.

b9a549 No.2469

File: 1423503669112.jpg (35.42 KB, 448x477, 448:477, image.jpg)


102540 No.2470

File: 1423511850566.jpg (267.86 KB, 925x667, 925:667, roflbot.jpg)

>>2468
>>2469
>can't argue
>resorts to calling arguments stupid
If they're so stupid you should be able to debunk them under 30mins. But all you can do is dodge scrutiny to hold up your faith in this notion of morality.

>devoid of basic logic and reason

So much projection.

>Also, you never said how old you were, and you never denied having neurological disorder. To me, this confirms you are indeed some combination of underage, autist/crazy, and troll.

Great logic there, sure showed me and the rest of this board you know how to reason. I just don't care to address all your butthurt.

Anyway back to studying.

87d471 No.2742

>egoism
>nonconventioal morality

This could have been a good thread.

b0845f No.9380

Bumping potentially good thread.

>>2331

OP said god doesn't real, and morality is a useless/harmful by-product of religion. Then it turned into why-should-I-care-about-you shit.

Between the lines, the alternatives offered were just as ""unconventional" as OP: they placed little emphasis on others and more on evolution, technology, society &c.

The question here is: if religious morality is bad, are these really the things to base morality on instead?


327dcd No.9381

>>2470

How are you so enlightened? :)))))))) can u teach me?


bcd285 No.9395

OP, you seek objectivity where there is just as much subjectivity. Also some view the meaning of life as surviving and being happy, a subjective "morality" is a manifestation of those wishes.

It's that simple.


94b95e No.9398

OP is correct. Why do you think the biggest mass murders in history like Stalin and Mao are all atheists?


474a8e No.9400

>>9398

Tell me about the 120 million idians that used to live in North America. Or the african colonies like belgish kongo.

They were killed by christians but not for christian reasons. But by your logic that doesn't matter.

Commies can't handle resources and most of their people starved to death.


4f496c No.9401

>>9398

They were communists. They didn't kill in the name of atheism, they did so in the name of communism.

>>9400

Also, this. Simply because a certain person with a certain belief (or lack thereof) does something, doesn't mean they did it in the name of that belief.


fe1d40 No.9442

File: 1436349003030.png (920.04 KB, 800x2449, 800:2449, Stalinn.png)

>>9398

They killed since they were assholes, it has nothing to do with them being an atheist, add up every religious war in history and we can say religion is worse, humans happen to breed assholes, and in modern times more and more people are becoming atheists then in the past.

>>9401

>stalin

>wanting a classless and stateless society were the workers had the means of production

If he was you think he would have at least done one of the big three, that's like saying the Jews died in the name of socialism because it was the national socialist party (even if they were not socialists due to the fact workers did not have the means of production)


52a8c0 No.9459

>>9442

>>wanting a classless and stateless society were the workers had the means of production

that is Marxism, not Stalinism. Stalin was anything but a statelessfag


3d8deb No.9473

>>9398

So let me get this straight, stalin and mao killed people because the "atheist" book of rules told him too? They killed millions of people because they were atheist and they felt that atheists should kill millions of people? So now all atheists bow down to their gods stalin and mao, because it's in the atheistic prophecy?

What the fuck are you guys smoking?




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