Atheists Cannot be Moral Redux

Hi All,

We had a discussion many moons ago about atheists and morality and a lot has happened since then. I reached some new conclusions (which I'll withhold for now so I don't poison the water) and at least one other poster here has some new ideas about it.

So, I was wondering what the prevailing opinion is out there on this topic. Do you believe that atheists can be "moral"? Is it impossible for an atheist to be truly moral? Is "morality" something to which adherents have a valid claim? The infamous Dawkins and Harris had a discussion at Oxford about this about a year or so ago that was very good and I would also be interested in what anyone thinks of what was discussed there.

Thanks and all are welcome.

- kk

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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on November 16, 2012 at 11:50am

I've come to the conclusion that when solving a problem, it is crucial to ask the right questions. In this case, people want to know "what works?" i.e. what actions or values help me to uphold this basic principle?

Thanks for your comment about Wikipedia by the way. I do rely on it, and I do need to check the material.

I'm currently into investigating how this http://plus.maths.org/content/does-it-pay-be-nice-maths-altruism-pa... ties up with this https://www.myotherdrive.com/dyn/file/282.505806.13102012.04415.6a6... This does assume that both are right, which is not presently fully known. They are both good models in my opinion. That's science for you I guess.

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Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on November 16, 2012 at 11:52am

Experience is a big factor in empathy too. I need to put that in the diagram.

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