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How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?

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DentArthurDent
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09 Sep 2014, 12:12 am

sonofghandi wrote:
The sanctity of human life comes from the fact that we only get one very brief ride through this life. If someone around you suffers and dies, it is so much more tragic than if you believe that they will magically come back to life to wander around on golden streets for eternity (or to feast in the halls of Valhalla forever and ever). If you don't believe in a hereafter, it brings much more of a sense of urgency.

I have seen way too many who can simply ignore the pain of others by thinking that if they were a good Christian, their suffering is only temporary and if they aren't a good little Christian then they deserve to suffer agonizing pain for all eternity anyway. How exactly is that demonstrating the value of human life in any way?



This.



BTW I see the op appears to have done another hit and run!


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Cash__
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09 Sep 2014, 5:09 pm

Quote:
How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.



TallyMan
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09 Sep 2014, 5:12 pm

Cash__ wrote:
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How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.


+1


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AspE
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09 Sep 2014, 9:17 pm

Cash__ wrote:
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How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.

What if you're a masochist?



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09 Sep 2014, 9:26 pm

No god involved.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_ethics


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Cash__
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09 Sep 2014, 9:44 pm

AspE wrote:
Cash__ wrote:
Quote:
How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.

What if you're a masochist?


If you aren't a masochist and someone treats you like one, would you like it? No.
So then you shouldn't treat someone like a masochist unless they want you too.



ruveyn
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09 Sep 2014, 10:03 pm

By following the Golden Rule (Jewish version). Don't do to other people what you don't like being done to you.



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10 Sep 2014, 1:47 am

AspE wrote:
Cash__ wrote:
Quote:
How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.

What if you're a masochist?


Whip, slap and spank those you love, don't touch those you don't. Though I guess it'd be confusing to tell who's your enemy and who's your friend since it'd be easy to get attached to anyone who hits you. Ugh, ethics are confusing even to masochists :(.



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10 Sep 2014, 5:57 am

Part of survival of the species is the grouping together to fight the predator or to hunt the prey. A rogue in the group risks the whole group. This evolved into the way we group together and become exclusive. For the very same reason, religions survive by demanding conformity of thinking, even if that conformity or that thinking is flawed. The same is true of other groups. Grouping for survival is where morality originated. Religious morality is a product of that, not the other way around.


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AspE
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10 Sep 2014, 11:53 am

Cash__ wrote:
AspE wrote:
Cash__ wrote:
Quote:
How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.

What if you're a masochist?


If you aren't a masochist and someone treats you like one, would you like it? No.
So then you shouldn't treat someone like a masochist unless they want you too.

That's not the rule, the rule is treat others as you would have them treat you. Not treat people like those people would like you to treat them, because no one knows how people want to be treated.



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10 Sep 2014, 1:21 pm

AspE wrote:
Cash__ wrote:
Quote:
How do Atheists negotiate right and wrong?


It's rather simple. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated.

What if you're a masochist?


I'm a masochist. I like pain... Under certain circumstances. I don't enjoy some stranger beating me without my consent. I assume most other people don't either...

I just follow the "Natural Law" - Do not cause harm for any reasons other than food, protection or mercy. Most animals only kill for food or protection and the majority are not cannibals. I like to think I'm at least on the same playing field as most of Earth's other creatures.



Dantac
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10 Sep 2014, 6:40 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnaQXJmpwM4



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11 Sep 2014, 7:11 am

Considering the fact that the bible and its followers consider the mere act of not believing in its God to be at the top of the list of wrongs, worthy of an eternity in incomprehensible suffering, i wonder how anyone could even take it seriously. Hell, the thing that seems to upset all rational human beings more than anything else, pedophilia, is not even listed among the biblical list of sins.



sonofghandi
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11 Sep 2014, 7:56 am

I would just like to point out that the golden rule predates Christianity by 1800 years to the code of Hammurabi.


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11 Sep 2014, 11:37 am

khaoz wrote:
Considering the fact that the bible and its followers consider the mere act of not believing in its God to be at the top of the list of wrongs, worthy of an eternity in incomprehensible suffering, i wonder how anyone could even take it seriously. Hell, the thing that seems to upset all rational human beings more than anything else, pedophilia, is not even listed among the biblical list of sins.

I don't think the Bible even mentions hell much, that's a later invention.



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11 Sep 2014, 1:55 pm

AspE wrote:
I don't think the Bible even mentions hell much, that's a later invention.


Yep, that's Hellinistic/Greek influence there. The Bible talks a bit about a 'pit' or 'lake of fire' in the NT, but most popular conceptions of hell is made from reading between the lines (yet it gets thrown around in church songs, sermons and Sunday school. So odd).
Taking the OP more seriously, there is some truth there. Religions anchor ethics/morality to an imaginary, made up reality, while atheists skip the imaginary part and focus on the process of making it up. In the end, atheists admit that we are the ones making it up, which feels a bit odd to say, but there's no way around it. It would be extremely convenient if there were a supernatural relationship to refer to when trying to figure out what to do, but that's just not the case (and the easiest way to see that is to ask different denominations, sects, religions, cultures, etc, about why they believe what they believe, and you'll see everyone has an equally convincing answer that is mutually exclusive towards each other, except for the ones that aren't, but by not being so, become so anyways).