Originally Posted by
shanbaum
Wow. I wish I lived in so simple a universe.
You are attempting to construct a tautology; if you define “absolute morality” as “morality determined by an absolute authority,” well then, you’re going to need an absolute authority (namely, you would say, God) in order for such a scheme to work.
But what I asked you to do was to support your assertion that such a morality actually exists, rather than requiring others to prove that it doesn’t. I certainly can’t prove that it does not exist; however, I have heard no persuasive argument (and from you, no argument at all) that it does exist.
Whether such a morality exists or not, there is considerable evidence that a) many people believe that there is, and b) they cannot agree on exactly what it comprises – simply compare the legal conventions of say, England, and Yemen. I choose England instead of the U.S. because the U.S. is closer to Yemen in some ways (e.g., capital punishment) than England is. It’s probably the case that the Yemenis think that they are acting in accordance with an absolute morality (the one dictated by shari’a). It’s less clear that “the British” (as a group) believe that they act in accord with an absolute morality, but it’s probably safe to say that they generally would reject the assertion that they violate one institutionally. Their moral codes are very different – like night and day. Who’s right?
If humans can’t discern the putative absolute morality correctly, the difference between morality being relative (or as you put it, a matter of “opinion” as to what constitutes a moral course of action) and morality being absolute (where it’s a matter of opinion as to what the absolutely moral course of action is) is subtle indeed. Instead of “I say this” and “I say that” the argument becomes “God says this” and “God says that.”
The sheer presumptuousness of the latter notwithstanding, of course, there may be a profound difference; that is, there may be a God who imposes an absolute moral code, which he has intimated to you (and not to me), and I will therefore suffer eternal damnation, while you and Chip frolic with the angels.
Or maybe not. But even if there were an absolute moral code, I suspect that the universe would still present dilemmas – where one perforce breaks one stricture or another. For example, one might face choosing to save an unborn child, or the life of its mother. Even in an absolute universe, one might face choices that are neither all black, nor all white – calling for judgment (of a lesser order).
Or does that sort of thing not really happen in your binary universe?
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