Atheist Morality

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The purpose of this group is to discuss morality from all points of view: biological, evolutionary, philosophical. Specific moral questions are also encouraged: if you have a moral question for us atheists, feel free to post it here.

Website: http://www.thinkatheist.com/group/atheistmorality
Location: A Planet Near and Dear
Members: 241
Latest Activity: Jul 14, 2017

18 members like this

Where did morality come from?

We atheists are pretty tired of hearing that without religion, there would be no morality. It is offensive to us atheists, since this implies we cannot possibly be moral, or if we are in fact, moral, it is because we were raised in a culture in which morality was initially acquired, and still perpetuated, by religion.

While it is indeed possible that some people may need religion in order to be moral, this is a scary thought: their morality has not been reasoned or felt in their gut, it was ordered from above.

Human beings have had moral laws and codes for thousands and thousands of years before religion was ever invented, at least in an organized form. Human beings around the globe, from many religious backgrounds, have pretty much the same basic set of rules, starting with the Golden Rule. Why? Because our moral sense comes from the evolution of our brains and the need to live as a social species, avoiding conflict and increasing cooperation. Our moral sense is based on our emotions: it feels good to help others, and it feels bad to harm others.

The scientific study of human nature has naturally lead to the scientific study of human morality. A good start if you're new to this fascinating and important subject is The New Science of Morality, from Edge.org.

ONGOING DISCUSSIONS
The Video Thread
The Reading List
The Moral Repository
Exercises in Moral Dilemmas

ONLINE TESTS
These are academic tests designed to probe our moral sense, moral cognition, and what drives our moral decisions and judgments. They are fun, they will tell you a lot about yourself, and you'll be helping researchers add to their current data.

YourMorals.org (Jonathan Haidt's group and collaborators)
The Moral Sense Test (Joshua Greene-Harvard University)

Discussion Forum

All Morality is Relative

Started by Andrew Brown. Last reply by Simon Paynton May 12, 2017. 50 Replies 3 Likes

Einstein proved everything is relative.Morality must also be relative, but relative to what?I argue our morality is obviously relative to Humans, thus all moral arguments we are able to judge must…Continue

Tags: peace, harm, path, nature, humans

Violating morals! what do you think?!

Started by Hope. Last reply by destitute Jan 16, 2017. 14 Replies 0 Likes

A sexual revolution in the Middle East... Cool but, Islamists dont like that!Anther updates from the religion of peace! what do you think?!This time it's about a teenager atheist girl who needs to…Continue

Tags: do, you, think?!, what, morals!

IF YOU WANT TO BE AN ENLIGHTENED MORAL ATHEIST, LET NOAM CHOMSKY BE YOUR INSPIRATION - NOT RICHARD DAWKINS

Started by Richard W. Symonds. Last reply by Rodrigo Paris Aug 14, 2016. 29 Replies 2 Likes

Noam Chomsky's atheist morality makes more sense to me than the atheist non-sense of 'Richard Dawkins & his Merrie Men' …Continue

Atheism, evolution and morality

Started by Anthony Blair. Last reply by Unseen Jul 18, 2016. 23 Replies 1 Like

According to evolution science, all life on earth started as a bunch of molecules that accidentally coalesced in a lifeless puddle of mud to form a complex little biological machine that we call a…Continue

Questions to Video Gamers

Started by T A A. Last reply by Belle Rose Jul 17, 2016. 97 Replies 0 Likes

Nearly all my life, video gaming has been an attractive pastime. My grandparents bought that ridiculous "ping" (probably wrong name) game for the old B/W television set in their living room and all…Continue

The Immorality of Prayers

Started by Jacob LeMaster. Last reply by C. Boyd Pfeiffer Mar 7, 2016. 11 Replies 0 Likes

Here is an example that was very personal to me..My grandmother was very ill due to a bad blood transfusion after giving birth to my uncle around 40 years ago.. Being in the bible belt the most…Continue

Tags: health, Prayer, Morality

no such thing as altruism?

Started by Wassabi. Last reply by Unseen Dec 22, 2015. 36 Replies 1 Like

I recently read an article about altruism (not In English or I'd link), which stated there is actually no such thing.While humans do not have ability to relay tangible things to each other by means…Continue

No afterlife, no morals?

Started by John Garbutt. Last reply by Simon Paynton Dec 17, 2015. 5 Replies 1 Like

Alright, so first of all I'm taking Theology & Religious Studies at university. A lot of people find this pretty strange for an atheist, but I'm fascinated by mythology, by superstition and by…Continue

[Poll] What is, according to you, the biggest moral challenge of our times?

Started by Jaume. Last reply by T A A Mar 9, 2011. 54 Replies 0 Likes

Per Adriana's request, I've moved the question from…Continue

Tags: morality, moral challenge

So What About Quasi Realism?

Started by Albert Bakker. Last reply by Albert Bakker Feb 24, 2011. 18 Replies 0 Likes

In making a first small foray into Quasi Realism, I would like first to go back here to the very basics.Lets for a moment forget about the correct chronological order and the whole network of nested…Continue

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Comment Wall

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Comment by Casey Dorman on July 14, 2017 at 11:10pm: Just published a Kindle essay on "Atheistic Nonviolence" exploring non-spiritual reasons for nonviolence. On Amazon at: .https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073XWV749/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8...

Comment by Tony Martin on December 14, 2015 at 12:17pm: I wonder what you guys think of this new David Bowie video...

https://youtu.be/kszLwBaC4Sw

Comment by Tony Martin on November 21, 2015 at 7:31pm: I find religion to be a hindrance to the animal rights movement - certainly to the idea of NOT EATING FLESH. While I can cite science sources to back up my point of view (such as the recent World Health Organization objections to meat) Meat eaters often cite their bible verses to support this bad habit. Ironically, yes, I do feel morally superior to these bible thumpers.

Comment by Tony Martin on November 21, 2015 at 7:27pm: Contrary to popular belief, Morality is not a human trait. Scientists have observed and reported on it found in other social groups in the animal kingdom... and not one of them have religion. Well, most of them. I recall a tribe of chimps worshiping the sunrise and researchers pondered if that was also our development of early religion.

Comment by Pope Beanie on October 30, 2015 at 4:16am: HAPPY PAINT MOHAMMED DAY!!

Well ok, so it's not really Mohammed. But I thought I might kill two birds with one stone, with this awesome story. (Am I demented?)