No offense, but I don’t understand how this differs from my summary beyond just that you apparently enjoy pontificating. Like I don’t understand what part of what you said was supposed to be revelatory to me, I specifically told you that morality is not sacred; this isn’t news and I’m not ignoring or unaware of some secondary truth here. Yes, morality is influenced by society and thus yes it is subject to societal whims… Okay? But it’s also informed by generations of evolutionary response and the motivation is almost entirely overwhelmingly pragmatic. Your “bUt WhAt iF rApE sUdDeNlY oKaY” scenario is meaningless because there is no social benefit to that scenario. Morals are still founded a sort of pragmatic empathy; sure sometimes, maybe even often, we get this wrong, but we don’t need a guiding hand to teach us the basics of working together for the greater good. The question isn’t “will this send me to hell,” it’s “is this to the benefit of humanity?”
I hate to break it to you, but you are also subject to moral subjectivism, you’re just less honest about it. Your moral frameworks are just as much a matter of consensus, just of the theocratic. You are not immune or superior, you’re just less honest with yourself. You still follow the subjective morality defined by man, just under the guise of higher authority.
No offense, but I don’t understand how this differs from my summary beyond just that you apparently enjoy pontificating. Like I don’t understand what part of what you said was supposed to be revelatory to me, I specifically told you that morality is not sacred; this isn’t news and I’m not ignoring or unaware of some secondary truth here. Yes, morality is influenced by society and thus yes it is subject to societal whims… Okay? But it’s also informed by generations of evolutionary response and the motivation is almost entirely overwhelmingly pragmatic. Your “bUt WhAt iF rApE sUdDeNlY oKaY” scenario is meaningless because there is no social benefit to that scenario. Morals are still founded a sort of pragmatic empathy; sure sometimes, maybe even often, we get this wrong, but we don’t need a guiding hand to teach us the basics of working together for the greater good. The question isn’t “will this send me to hell,” it’s “is this to the benefit of humanity?”
But is there a difference between preferences and moral imperatives?
Does it matter in any way beyond semantics?
Yes, of course it does.
How? Why?
Because the argument is based on what morality is. And this is a question about what it is.
And you think if it is preference it cannot be morality? My friend, morality is societal preference, at least in part.
Such an account of morality is indeed insufficient for some people. But this is the argument: you have to accept moral subjectivism if you reject God.
I hate to break it to you, but you are also subject to moral subjectivism, you’re just less honest about it. Your moral frameworks are just as much a matter of consensus, just of the theocratic. You are not immune or superior, you’re just less honest with yourself. You still follow the subjective morality defined by man, just under the guise of higher authority.