Science of Morality, Anyone?

coberst

Science of Morality, Anyone?

Where, in American culture, is the domain of knowledge that we would identify as morality studied and taught?

I suspect that if we do not quickly develop a science of morality that will make it possible for us to live together on this planet in a more harmonious manner our technology will help us to destroy the species and perhaps the planet soon.

It seems to me that we have given the subject matter of morality primarily over to religion. It also seems to me that if we ask the question ‘why do humans treat one another so terribly?’ we will find the answer in this moral aspect of human culture.

The ‘man of maxims’ “is the popular representative of the minds that are guided in their moral judgment solely by general rules, thinking that these will lead them to justice by a ready-made patent method, without the trouble of exerting patience, discrimination, impartiality—without any care to assure themselves whether they have the insight that comes from a hardly-earned estimate of temptation, or from a life vivid and intense enough to have created a wide fellow-feeling with all that is human.” George Eliot The Mill on the Floss

We can no longer leave this important matter in the hands of the Sunday-school. Morality must become a top priority for scientific study.

walden freeman

Religion is the worst disease the world has. Somewhere along the line, people decided that without an muscular, invisible man who lives in the clouds and holds the physical characteristics of the majority race of your locale is the litmus test for morality.

Religion preaches nothing but ignorance, contempt, hatred, and bigotry. Religion is also viewed by many people worldwide to be a doctrine of sorts of morals. It's fucking ridiculous and if you need a god or a book to tell you what's right and wrong, you're a fucking psychopath.

chopitdown

walden freeman wrote:

Religion is the worst disease the world has. Somewhere along the line, people decided that without an muscular, invisible man who lives in the clouds and holds the physical characteristics of the majority race of your locale is the litmus test for morality.

Religion preaches nothing but ignorance, contempt, hatred, and bigotry. Religion is also viewed by many people worldwide to be a doctrine of sorts of morals. It's fucking ridiculous and if you need a god or a book to tell you what's right and wrong, you're a fucking psychopath.

to the OP, perhaps this post is an example of why people can't live together in harmony. We live in an age of moral relativism where there's an attitude of, if I don't like it, then I don't have to tolerate it. As this post exhibits, people think it's ok to even spew hatred for things they don't agree with. Until people who are religious, areligious, secularists, etc... can learn to respect other views, all the scientific scholarship in the world won't mean a damn thing.

walden freeman

It's hard to respect views that promote bigotry, slavery, and murder.

That being said, I perhaps should've worded my sentiments better.

There are many religious people out there who are good, honest people. But, the religions themselves are full of corruption and sickness.

However, religion, like politics, will prompt someone to turn on someone else, even a loved one, at the drop of a hat. I've seen siblings stop talking altogether because of something as stupid as religion.

Would you choose Jesus over your brother? Would you blow up a bus or an office in the name of an invisible man? Would you kill someone for not agreeing with your book of fairytales?

How many people call Obama a "monkey?" How many people hate Obama a "raghead?" It's fucking retarded. It comes from fear and it's predominately these born-again Christian nuts and uneducated Creationists.

sponger

I was having a discussion with a deeply religious co-worker of mine some months back regarding the subject of spanking children.

I said, "Statistically speaking, the dividing line between those against and those for it is usually a college degree, with those who have college degrees being against."

She goes, "My church has a member who is a school teacher, and she teaches us how to tell when we should use spanking as a punishment. The bible doesn't say that spanking is wrong."

I go, "The bible was written about 2000 years ago, right?"

She's like, "Yeah."

I said, "2000 years ago, what did anybody really know about child psychology?"

And that's why, in my opinion, modern psychology is in fact the closest thing we have to a scientific approach to understanding morality.

That's because morality is simply our ability to tap into what makes us human beings, and psychology is literally the subject self-discovery. Self-knowledge has done more for the advancement of moral decision making than any other system of thought.

Point in fact is that if we did not possess the ability to understand our own intentions, it would be impossible for us define right and wrong.

Without lies, there cannot be immorality. There is no such thing as immorality based in truth.

walden freeman

Lately, all the churches near my home have been putting clever little sayings up on their billboards outside.

I was driving by a local church the other day and I saw this gem:

"The Truth Is! Lies have to be invented!"

I immediately chuckled and thought "oh, the irony."

Collin

walden freeman wrote:

Would you choose Jesus over your brother?

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 )

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

walden freeman

Collin wrote:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 )

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

Yes, the Bible is retarded.

sponger

Collin wrote:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 )

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

lmao. when in doubt, read the bible.

coberst

I think that we badly need a science of morality and everything that is entailed by a systematic and disciplined study of any domain of knowledge.

I am studying "The Sense of Beauty" by George Santayana, "Moral Imagination" by Mark Johnson, and "Art and Visual Perception" by Rudolf Arnheim. I have discovered that the study of values, morality is a species of value, has led me into a study of visual perception, the meaning of 'meaning', and the science of art.

The study of psychology and cognitive science has provided a foundation for this effort. I think that such studies must form the foundation of such an effort.

chopitdown

Collin wrote:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39 )

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26

hate is better (correctly) translated as love less. You can and SHOULD have great love for your family, but it should be less than you love God.

How bout the greatest commandement in the bible...love the lord your god with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself...i don't think those are unreasonable commands

catefrances

chopitdown wrote:

to the OP, perhaps this post is an example of why people can't live together in harmony. We live in an age of moral relativism where there's an attitude of, if I don't like it, then I don't have to tolerate it. As this post exhibits, people think it's ok to even spew hatred for things they don't agree with. Until people who are religious, areligious, secularists, etc... can learn to respect other views, all the scientific scholarship in the world won't mean a damn thing.

hmm tolerate. what exactly is this word telling us to do?
i am a racist bastard but because the law says i can not express my deep hatred of certain people, i shall keep all my hatred inside my body and seethe until i die.

why do we have crimes specifically labelled hate crimes? why is it(or is it?) worse to murder or beat someone up because they are gay or Black? shouldnt the crime of murder itself be the ultimate disgrace?

any one who believes in a God and yet condones war or capital punishment is a hypocrite. and not a true person of faith.

mickeyrat

might help more to have "action in morality"

Science is and can be nothing more than a form of worship.

To have this so-called selfknowledge means nothing without the action behind it.Becomes nothing more than a theory.

And I believe an untested theory to be just a mindfuck.

right and wrong, While holding some basic commonality between peoples is entirely subjective.

Whats right for me could very well be wrong for you.

_

coberst wrote:

Where, in American culture, is the domain of knowledge that we would identify as morality studied and taught?

I think it's taught in philosophy. But the study of philosophy is not valued in this country because it's not a money-making endeavor.

catefrances

scb wrote:

I think it's taught in philosophy. But the study of philosophy is not valued in this country because it's ot a money-making endeavor.

plus all that thinking hurts your brain.

heartdesire

chopitdown wrote:

hate is better (correctly) translated as love less. You can and SHOULD have great love for your family, but it should be less than you love God.

How bout the greatest commandement in the bible...love the lord your god with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself...i don't think those are unreasonable commands

I have to admit I find the bible contradictory. Some good stuff, though some of it is not to be taken literally. There is a certain amount of allegory and deeper thinking needed in understanding.

God didn't write it. Jesus didn't write it. Man wrote it and rewrote it and rewrote it and then it was translated and translated ... don't fully trust it, and those who take it literally.

I do not mean to be disrespectful or argumentative just sharing a point of view.

sponger

catefrances wrote:

i am a racist bastard but because the law says i can not express my deep hatred of certain people, i shall keep all my hatred inside my body and seethe until i die.

Are you really deeply racist? I think just about everybody is racist to some extent. Those who believe they aren't are just lying to themselves.

But, deeply racist? In what ways?

Jack_C_Gregory

sponger wrote:

I was having a discussion with a deeply religious co-worker of mine some months back regarding the subject of spanking children.

I said, "Statistically speaking, the dividing line between those against and those for it is usually a college degree, with those who have college degrees being against."

Both of my parents have their college degree. When I was out of line I was spanked. I tend to stay out of trouble.

sponger

WeaponX655321 wrote:

Both of my parents have their college degree. When I was out of line I was spanked. I tend to stay out of trouble.

On the same token, your parents could've achieved the same end without resorting to violence. They chose the quick and dirty solution as opposed to one that would've utilized their communication and problem-solving skills.

catefrances

sponger wrote:

Are you really deeply racist? I think just about everybody is racist to some extent. Those who believe they aren't are just lying to themselves.

But, deeply racist? In what ways?

no i am not deeply racist. you quoted me out of context. i was questioning what the word tolerance actually means. tone is so difficult to convey on the internets.

i am not racist AT ALL. tis not that i believe i am not, tis that i KNOW i am not.

sponger

catefrances wrote:

no i am not deeply racist. you quoted me out of context. i was questioning what the word tolerance actually means. tone is so difficult to convey on the internets.

i am not racist AT ALL. tis not that i believe i am not, tis that i KNOW i am not.

I recommend taking the implicit association test to see if you are truly that .00001% of the population that harbors no racist tendencies.