How To Determine Moral Principles Without Religion
The conduct of a just life and the analysis of moral principles are encompassed in ethics.A higher power is the only source of moral principles according to the theists.This is not the case, according to modern ethicists.The ideas proposed by a religious text are independent of the speaker.If you think through morals on your own instead of accepting them as fact, you can be spiritual.
Step 1: The principles that you never violate are the most important in your life.
Why are these principles important?Aggressive violence is one of the things that falls into this category.The most important step to determine moral principles without religion is self-examination of morals.Is it ever right to commit a crime, even if you don't have full answers for every question?Is it right to follow all the laws you agree with?Is total honesty a good thing or not?What is the line between helping your group and looking out for yourself?What are you loyal to?Do you believe in the same moral principles?
Step 2: This life is the only one we have.
In order to get a better position in the afterlife, morality shouldn't say how we live.There are real issues and ideas on Earth that need your attention, and morality should maximize utility in this life.It is possible to create a moral code with many different goals and aims, but this life is the only one we have.The principle should never be out of your mind.For your life and the lives of others, your actions have consequences.Make the most of your present situation if you want to plan for the afterlife.
Step 3: There are real-world causes of amoral behavior.
Religions believe that bad actions are the failure of the individual.It is someone's fault if they stray from the moral tenants of religion out of selfishness, anger, or some internal evil or flaw.Most evil acts are the result of circumstances surrounding them.Rape and male violence can spread the human race, as "evil" men like Genghis Khan created hundreds of offspring in their evolutionary (and sub-conscience) desire to spread his genes.The violent tendencies of modern-day humans are a result of a highly successful genetic change to rape and pillage from ancient times.Even if the effort is fundamentally misguided, evil is often done in an effort to survive.Hitler's actions are immoral, but what about the rest of the Germans?The country was in horrible poverty and depression, and a charismatic leader convinced them that he could return them to safety and wealth.
Step 4: Reexamining and adjusting your morals is necessary to be both up-to-date and consistent.
As society progresses and new ideas and situations are discovered, one's moral principles need to be updated.One of the biggest mistakes in religious morality is that people assume that everything has been the same for thousands of years and that no changes need to be made.Modern-day sects of Islam attest to the betrayal of the moral tenants of treating others fairly and avoiding violence.Secular moral principles will become much clearer if you keep your mind open.People should re-think their moral code to fit new problems.Pope Francis set about reexamining and modifying centuries-old Catholic dogma about homosexuality, women, the environment and capitalism.
Step 5: Illustrate your moral code in actions.
Do you follow your morals, whatever they may be?It makes no sense to have a set of moral principles that one does not follow.You can't do more than follow your own code if you have different ideas of morals.Your actions and words will determine your morality.
Step 6: Modern ethical quandaries can help deepen your moral principles.
There is little that doctors can do to prevent death due to terminal illnesses.Should a patient be helped to kill themselves or should they be kept alive for as long as possible?Is it morally wrong to eat animals if you know that vegetarianism may be better for the planet?Is it ethical to let your pets eat meat or not?If there is a war in a foreign country and civilians are being murdered, is it better for US troops to save them or for outsiders to intervene?There are only difficult questions that need to be asked.It takes thought and detail to have an answer to a moral dilemma.You will need to do some research to determine moral principles.The traps imposed by religious moral thinking can be avoided by keeping your arguments based on facts and reason.
Step 7: Think about the Socratic philosophy of self-knowledge, where intelligence creates morals.
Many Greeks believed that lack of information creates evil and bad behavior.They argue that most people don't think about the consequences of their actions.Most people do the "right" thing because it makes them happy, but you only know the right thing through honest review of the facts, what are the long-term consequences of my choice?Who else will be affected by my choice?Will it affect my relationships?What is missing in this decision?What is the gain?
Step 8: Think about the biological causes of generosity and altruism.
People lived in small bands where they were likely to stay in contact with each other throughout their lives.The band's members were able to produce more successful offspring because of their altruistic nature.The close knit community puts other members in a position to reciprocate, which directly aids and reinforces the moral codes.A win-win situation is where helping others instead of competing with them allows everyone to be better off.The evolutionary benefits of supporting each other are what make morality come from a god.Favors from others and a safe, productive community are often repaid by treating people with decency, honesty, and kindness.
Step 9: "consequentialism" is a moral idea that the morality of an action is determined by its consequences.
In contrast to the deontological codes of conduct laid out by most religions, the same action can have different moral worth under different circumstances.There are many consequentialist ethical frameworks that have been developed over many centuries.The greatest happiness of the greatest number is ensured by living as a consequentialist.There is a possibility that this is not the case.What is a good consequence?As your relationships affect you as well, make sure you consider how your decisions will affect others.According to religion, the "right" act is unimportant.It is wrong to steal in most religions.Is stealing from the rich to feed your children immoral?
Step 10: Common moral ground can be found by examining the overlap of ideas between cultures.
The moral principle is valid according to independent cultural overlap.The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", is not only Christian, but is echoed throughout ethical philosophy across the globe.Everyone agrees that you should treat others with respect.The ideas outlined in The United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights are an incomplete framework for basic decency and morality.
Step 11: Take a closer look at the moral writings of philosophers.
The positive ideas of those writers are not discounted, even though the reader may consider many parts of religious texts amoral and lack a belief in any deity.The ideas of the writers of these texts can be valid outside of religion.Beyond Good and Evil, Friedrich Nietzche The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris Ethics, Benedict de Spinoza are some of the famous ethical and moral tracts.
Step 12: The human intellect is the most important tool that we have yet to understand.
The presence or absence of a higher power has no effect on your moral code unless you can deduce a superior one from your own.A moral and logical person would accept such a code.The value of questioning the moral code in order to potentially obtain even greater moral right is something that an unbeliever would still recognize.If divine code is perfect, questioning it only makes it stronger.One shouldn't fear questioning a moral code.
Step 13: The morality comes from communities who interpret religion.
If a modern human were to stone to death an adolescent for not honoring their parents, we would think they were immoral.The prescribed punishments are found in the Old Testament.Modern humans do not follow their religious texts to the letter, so they need a method for determining which prescriptions to follow and which to discard, which is where our morals come from.Is this action good because God tells us to do it, or is it just a good thing?If the action is good because God says so, morality is meaningless, and there are likely few Christians who believe that murder is moral just because someone talked back to their father.
Step 14: True moral goodness occurs when you want to help, not because you have to.
It's not moral when something is a requirement.Choosing the right thing is what morality is about.If you only do the right thing because a religious leader or text told you to, or because you're scared of the consequences of hell, you aren't actually being moral.You're a sheep.The mass murders of the Spanish Inquisition and Crusades were supported by the Bible.It would have been easy for anyone to think that violence is a good moral principle.
Step 15: Consider the immoral positions of religions.
Many of the followers of these religions would argue that they are the most moral of all, but something is off when multiple religions claim the same thing.Christianity-sanctioned slavery and treatment of blacks as "sub-human" in America would not happen if morality was completely divorced from religion.There have been terrorist attacks, beheadings and suppression of women's rights.Human sacrifice is being used to gain political power.
Step 16: Highly religious communities have higher rates of crime and violence.
There is a myth that God is the glue that holds society together.Most countries and states with high religious belief are the most dangerous places to live in.Lower homicide, rape, and poverty levels are correlated with highly secular areas.This is a statistical trend, and there are exceptions.Secular states in the US are safer than most highly religious ones.
Step 17: Atheist tend to be against limited rights for minorities.
It has been shown time and time again that atheists are more tolerant than their religious brethren.There is no inter- religious hatred and rivalry that can spur so many atrocities like the Crusades, and lack of religion erases antiquated rules and morals.People who create their own moral codes tend to treat others better than people who wait for someone to give them one.
Step 18: The good of religious thinking and morality should still be accepted.
Even if there are some mistakes, theologians of all faiths have pushed ethical and moral philosophy incredibly far.Buying into religious morality wholesale without considering the faults is the biggest mistake.It is possible to stay spiritual and religious without feeling like your moral code is already prescribed, if you consider each principle on its own.Morality will often be a mixture of ideas from many different cultures and religions, and closing your mind to theological thought is just as limiting as only considering one religion.