Even if there was a god, morals still wouldn’t be objective. A god could exist
and deliver a set of morals to an ancient group of goat herders or even
implant in humans its set of morals and those morals would still only be the
opinions of that particular deity. Anyone who claims morals are objective
simply doesn’t understand the definition of either term.
Standards and Deviations
Most people will live their lives without ever raping or killing anyone. So if
we don’t get our morals from the Bible or some objective standard, where do
they come from?
The two main pillars of morality are reciprocity and empathy, as explained
by Frans de Waal here. Most of us have some basic cognitive recognition
skills. That is to say, we recognize other organisms like us and understand
how they would feel in a given situation by imagining ourselves in the same
situation. I don’t set people on fire because I understand it would really suck
if someone set me on fire.
Most people wouldn’t hurt an animal for the same reasons. We understand
they have emotions and can feel pain. But just like humans, we are more
likely to hurt an animal if we feel threatened by it. Our sense of justice and
our sense of morality are intertwined. Most mammals exhibit basic empathy
for one another and a sense of justice within their societies. This
phenomenon is observable in all social beings.
In addition to the basic empathy most of us share, every action has some
potential social, economic and/or legal ramifications. We understand the
value of healthy relationships and seek mutual benefits from our
relationships. If I help my neighbor then they are more likely to help me
when and if I need. If I am rude to my neighbor, they are less likely to help
me when and if I need.
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