Hi James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> Michael Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 07-Apr-07 1:06:56 AM >>> I think the issue of a moral code from the religious point of view is not that you cannot have a moral code designed by an individual or society, but that if does not originate with God then it has no ultimate authority or meaning. That is, an individual or societal moral code is at best arbitrary, and it can never escape this. So then, what makes our morality better than Hitler's? Without Divine moral authority, it isn't. JC: 1. I don't understand why this wouldn't also be true of religion-based codes, since there are innumerable versions of godliness. Religion only provides an "ultimate authority" if you believe that your god is the chosen one, which of course many other people would disagree with. 2. Work on the evolution of morality is finding remarkable agreement around the world on some basic aspects of morality (e.g., that one should save a child's life even if it means getting your pants wet). But this agreement appears to be independent of religiousness. 3. Surely you wouldn't want to argue, would you, that without religion people are likely to agree with Hitler's (lack of?) morality? That would seem to be one implication of your question and would, I suspect, be seen as an incredible inference and deeply insulting to most of the world's many atheists. Since this discussion began with Jim G's questioning the potential for conflict between non-religious professors and religious students (based on the assumption that overall statistics for the US population applied to students), it is perhaps worth noting that Pew polls taken over the last 20 years have revealed that the percent of people under 30 who are atheist, agnostic, or no religion has gone from 10% to 19% over past 20 years. See: http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/312.pdf This appears to be a generational change, rather than changing attitudes of individuals. Perhaps the US's distinct stand on religion among the developed nations is finally changing. For the religiousness of the US see: http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/167.pdf These data suggest that Jim G's hypothetical problem would be less likely in Canada (30% religion very important vs. 59% in US), Europe (11% to 36%), and Japan (only 11%). To return to Michael Smith's question in closing, it is amazing that these relatively irreligious countries haven't "gone to hell in a hand-basket." Take care Jim --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
