Quote Originally Posted by Philipvs Vallindervs Calicvla View Post
Nope, still not getting it.

Objective: Something which is not dependant on the perspective of the subject (me) and therefore is always "true". I shall not consider "false" statements becase they are merely the antithesis of true ones.

Subjective: Something which is so from the subjective's perspective but not universally so, and therfore not actually "true" but merely appears to be so/approximates truth.

So, my understandin of morality is the division between right and wrong, which is universally applicable in every instance and is built into the fabric of the universe, it is not objective. Ergo, what is Right or True in one instance is also Right or True in every other instance without excpetion.

What you are talking about is not morality, but subjective utility, this is basically Sophistry. The idea is that "these morals are benificial for this society, therefore they are 'good'". The problem with that model is that one can only interrogate a society on its own terms, and the question of whether the society itself is bad never comes up. This is where multiculturalism has run aground, trying to give equal weight to every cultural view and then just unravelling in a mess.

None of this is morality.

Non. I am not saying that every moral view is equally correct - what I am saying is that the whole notion of 'correct morals' is flawed; in the objective sense, that is.

I am not interested in utility at all. What is wrong and what is right in my view, does not depend on the society. I have an absolute view of morality, morality that is not objective. It makes no more sense to talk about objective morals than an objective taste in foods (what tastes 'good' and what tastes 'bad').

The difference between food and morals should be obvious: taste in foods is foremost a private matter whereas morals mainly involve other people. While taste may largely be genetically coded, morals are to a less extent and may thus be debated and/or shared.

You personally may find such a view on morals problematic, but it still represents morality. A subjective perception may be shared by everyone on the planet, but it is still not objective. This means that subjective morals may be applied universally and with consistency.

Many people might agree that respect for the individ is important, and so do I - but as with any other moral idea, I consider it to be subjective. Subjective, yet something for every society.



I recently read in the Guardian an article that argued that this universe was probably created to be ergonomic for the creation of life by people in another universe, and that this explained the habitablity of our universe. Further, it was argued that this was more likely than a divine creator because once a sentient lifeform existed in one universe it would create other habitable universes, and then others would be created...... etc.

This ignored three points.

1. That we might be the "first" universe.

2. That this still doesn't explain the existence of a first universe, even if it isn't us.

3. That this whole speculation is based on something we think we "might" be able to do.

In other words, it's about as likely, if not less so, than a Divine Creator.

Wild speculation based on that sort of "evidence" is significantly beyond the realms of all but the wackiest theology.

So, as I said, we have one universe to work with, making wild suppositions about other universes that may or may not exist, and which we will never visit, is just an exercise in intellectual vanity. It is considerably less useful in my view than the discussion we are having now.
Well, I do not intend to debate this topic as there is not much to add to it. The reason why I brought it up is indeed to demonstrate that any chain of arguments must start with secular logic. Any religious logic is a consequence of a secular one.