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View Full Version : Decline in morals?

Chris Worfolk
02-03-2008, 02:03 PM
One of the things we were discussing at a recent Skeptics Anonymous meeting was morality and Dave (a Christian and former CU president) mentioned the decline in moral standards - for example the way people now want to legalise drugs and the amount of pre-martial sex that goes on.

My argument though was that this isn't people not having any morals anymore. It's not immoral to have pre-martial sex or take drugs unless you take an objective morality standard and so we're not actually seeing a reduction in morals.

Even if you take things like crime and violence that goes on within our society this is just a shift in morals. For example we don't have the death penality anymore and animals have more rights than ever.
norman
06-03-2008, 04:08 PM
Morality is social and subjective. The morality we observe is based on the social situation we are in.

I would suggest that the 'decline' in moral standards is more a result of the reduction in reliance of humans on fellow humans for survival - ie the fact we don't need each other as much to defend ourselves from predators or to hunt food, we no longer require the same social ties as before. Reduction in moral standards can be explained through evolution, particularly the evolution of society.
Chris Worfolk
07-03-2008, 10:26 AM
Interestingly enough, from what Peter said at One Life last night I get the idea he wasn't so keen on subjective morality.
norman
07-03-2008, 07:07 PM
I agree, he was clearly pushing the idea of objective morality as a humanist dogma.
Ellis Pugh
14-03-2008, 02:54 PM
Objective morality as a humanist dogma?? The irony. Surely objective morality is a purely religious thing?
Chris Worfolk
14-03-2008, 03:46 PM
Well I would guess it is possible to believe in objective morality set by some kind of universal constants without religion but isn't particularly plausable.
alexlaird87
15-03-2008, 01:59 PM
My advice would be to listen to this audio book by Stefan Molyneux.

its quite long, but worth it, if your interested in a secular objective morality.


http://www.freedomainradio.com/goodies/UPB/UPB_A_Rational_Proof_of_Secular_Ethics_Part_1_Full .mp3

http://www.freedomainradio.com/goodies/UPB/UPB_A_Rational_Proof_of_Secular_Ethics_Part__2_Ful l.mp3

If you like it, please donate some money at his web site. if not, don't: www.freedomainradio.com