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The problem of Objective Morality. and why even biblical speaking it is subjective

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ToddNotTodd

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a particular system of values and principles of conduct
This meaning would imply that there is a particular system and others are counted out.

Yes, particular for any given person. That obviously doesn't mean that there is only one particular system.


So the dictionary meaning is not very informative as to whether it is subjective or objective.

That's the whole point. If objectivity was so intrinsic to the word "morality", it seems as though it would appear in the definition. On the other hand, subjectivity is implied because the definition implies more than one system.

Here is a bit of logic. If a simple thing like the dictionary definition proves there cannot be any moral objectivity then why do the majority of philosophers not only spend life times debating, investigating and defending moral objectivity but the majority support objective morality. It would seem a futile presuit and waste of all that time and effort if they did not think it was possible.

That's not logic. It's two logical fallacies (argument from authority and argument from popularity) in two sentences.
 
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ToddNotTodd

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If subjective morality is such a common position, then why do you have so much difficulty coming up with examples.

Who says I do? I can come up with countless examples.

Why does this character you have used as an example have to be on the verge of a psychopath to prove your point. He does not care who he kills yet can still compose himself like nothing has happened.

Your incredulity does not invalidate my point. This person has a moral system as subjective as any moral system.

You said this moral system is based on what benefits the person and what does not hurt them. So, what happens when one of the things they claim that does not hurt them is proven to hurt them. Such as your example that they kill someone to get the job and they get caught and lose the job they killed for and go to jail.

Then obviously that particular murder was ultimately bad and wrong, according to that person's system. It's not a requirement for any particular moral system that the rightness or wrongness of any particular moral action be known to absolute certainty before the action is taken. Indeed, most moral systems have a certain amount of situational ethics attached to it, which means that we rely on the information we have on hand to judge an action before we act, but can't absolutely know the outcome of that action.
 
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Ed1wolf

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Though the ships were wooden back then; by the 1500’s steel was already being used in ship building as reinforcements. I looked at the links and didn’t see anything suggesting those ships didn’t have steel reinforcements.
Well I didn't see any evidence that they DID have steel reinforcements, but anyway there is evidence that Noah may have had iron, so could have used iron reinforcements, or gopher wood may have had certain properties that modern trees do not have and therefore may not have needed any reinforcements. Or the pitch that he covered the ark with may have acted as reinforcement.


ken: No; illusions is deception; magic is not. Thats why what used to be called "magicians" are now legally required to refer to themselves as "illusionists"
Irrespective of what you call magic either illusion or deception, neither is what really happened, with miracles what you see is what really happened.


ken: What about the rivers and streams that do not run into the Ocean? How come they aren't salty?
The same reason they are not salty now. See Why is the ocean salty?


ken: Again; according to nature, you can’t have an evening or morning without the Sun.
But the sun IS there, it was created BEFORE day 1, Genesis 1:1. The conjunctive phrase "heavens and earth" is the Hebrew way of saying the entire physical universe. So the sun was already created before day/age 1.


ken: Without a Sun, there is no light for day 1-3
See above the sun already existed.
 
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Ed1wolf

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Morality is defined as a set of codes that entities that die follow in order to prolong and substantiate their lives.

That is your definition, not God's definition.

yi: You have made another mistake of assuming 1) animals are not mortal beings (when they categorically are - because they die), and 2) that they have no morality because you see no morality.
No, I said animals are not MORAL beings, you misread my post. There is no evidence animals have a moral conscience. A chimp will kill and eat baby chimps and never get punished by the other chimps or show any evidence of feeling guilty about it.


yi; Oh, I have.

Show me one place where God Himself ever said that His word is null, void or inactive. Show me one place where God Himself, or the Word of God Himself says this.

Law is Law; humans have qualified the word of God. Dangerous, as usual. But, who actually cares?
I already showed you earlier in this thread where both Jesus and Paul stated or behaved as if the ceremonial laws and civil laws no longer apply to Christians in the New Covenant. So I am not going to repost those verses again.


yi: Go do your research. I am not going to give that information here because these discussions on the simplicity of objectivity are already miles from the point. It would distract from the point of this discussion. However, I wouldn't even need evidence; I would just trust God. He said wearing mixed woolens is not to be done, yet humans want to say, "well, that's not so important anymore because times have changed." Unlike human objectivity, the Word of God doesn't change. Can you show one place in the bible canon, or apocrypha where God Himself, or Christ said that the Word of God has changed from the foundation?
Already did. Not going to rehash those again. And I know that since you don't believe in the ENTIRE Canon of God, you will not accept it.

yi: Show me one place in the canon or apocrypha where God, or the Word of God tells us that any of God's word is no longer active. One place where God or Christ - the authorities on the Word of God - say this (not man.)
See above.
 
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stevevw

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First of all, science never proved smoking was bad any more than they proved sugar, or trans fat are bad. They just provided the data about the harmful effects of smoking and people decided it wasn’t bad enough to make illegal like narcotics, but more harmful than sugar and trans fats thus a warning label should be attached; whereas sugar and trans fats doesn’t require one. Again; science didn’t determine the moral issues associated with smoking, people did.
Of course science proved smoking was bad. It was the only thing that could have proved it was bad. Here is evidence from the the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that shows the scientific medical tests and studies proved that smoking was bad. They did tests on lung cells and seen how smoking caused pulmonary ciliastasis. They also did tests on animals which supported their findings. It was then up to people to accept the information or not. But peoples views alone could not prove smoking was bad.

The history of the discovery of the cigarette–lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll
Cigarettes were recognised as the cause of the epidemic in the 1940s and 1950s, with the confluence of studies from epidemiology, animal experiments, cellular pathology and chemical analytics.
The history of the discovery of the cigarette–lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll

But thats what people do! Why do you think narcotics are illegal? Why do you think prostitution is illegal? People using the law to force their moral opinions on others.
o why do they say narcotics is illegal.
Everybody believes their moral position is objective. Wilberforce believed his moral position was objective, and those in charge believed their moral position was objective. The fact that those in charge were able to change their minds on the issue proved everybody’s moral position is subjective.
That doesnt make sense. How can the people in charge have both objective and subjective moral positions at the same time. I suggest that the only person who had an objective position was Wilberforce as he was saying that slavery was bad no matter and despite the opinions of those in charge. Those in charge had the subjective view becuase they ended up giving in to what Wilberforce was saying and changing their view. Only subjectivists will change their view. If those in charge had objective moral views then they would not have changed their view. They would have stuck to their position in saying slavery is good.

No; it means they believe they have an objective moral position.
If you believe you have an objective moral position you do not change. Like you said objective morality means you keep the same moral position and dont change. The only person that kept their moral position and did not change was William Wilberforce who said slavery is wrong and is always wrong no matter what a persons personal view about slavery is.
 
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stevevw

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No one "supports subjectivity". That phrase is nonsensical. I use language that fits the situation, as I did when I wrote the above.
My point was is "definitely wrong" is an absolute statement. Does not an absolute statement require some support other than personal opinion. If your moral position is subjective then using absolute statements is a bit of a contradiction especially without support.

No, you provided "scientific evidence" that supports the idea that science can help to determine what's harmful. What you continually fail to realize is that it doesn't support objective morality because valid moral systems don't have to deal with "harm" in the same way.
Why not, isnt scientific evidence that a certain act is harmful always going to stand no matter what moral position someone takes or what view the individual thinks harm is. The scientific version of what harm is trumps them all becuase it is proven by science. The same science can prove that the persons version of what harm is is wrong. Science can objectively say no that version of harm is not really a harm simply becuase it is science.

Just like science can say no that version of boiling water by ice, or staring at it, or every other version is objectively wrong becuase science tells us that only heat can boil water. It does not matter about whether someone believes water is boiled in a different way, becuase that different way can be scientifically shown as being objectively wrong. The persons view that they dont care can also be shown to be wrong becuase scientifically the harm they do is still shown to be wrong. Science reasoning only takes one position of what harm is for the wellbeing of humans anyone elses idea of harm based on personal views is objectively wrong compared to that regardless of whether they say it is OK or they dont care about science.
 
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ToddNotTodd

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My point was is "definitely wrong" is an absolute statement.

No, it's an opinion. It's not an argument. Opinions are subjective.

Does not an absolute statement require some support other than personal opinion. If your moral position is subjective then using absolute statements is a bit of a contradiction especially without support.

I continue to support my position. You keep continuing to not understand my position.

Why not, isnt scientific evidence that a certain act is harmful always going to stand no matter what moral position someone takes or what view the individual thinks harm is.

Like I keep saying over and over, scientific evidence that an act is harmful doesn't equate to that act being wrong, depending on the moral system being used. In a moral system like "What's right and good is what benefits me personally.", rape and murder would be objectively good if it meets the criteria of the moral system.

The scientific version of what harm is trumps them all becuase it is proven by science. The same science can prove that the persons version of what harm is is wrong. Science can objectively say no that version of harm is not really a harm simply becuase it is science..

Like I keep saying over and over, scientific evidence that an act is harmful doesn't equate to that act being wrong, depending on the moral system being used. In a moral system like "What's right and good is what benefits me personally.", rape and murder would be objectively good if it meets the criteria of the moral system.

Just like science can say no that version of boiling water by ice, or staring at it, or every other version is objectively wrong becuase science tells us that only heat can boil water. It does not matter about whether someone believes water is boiled in a different way, becuase that different way can be scientifically shown as being objectively wrong. The persons view that they dont care can also be shown to be wrong becuase scientifically the harm still happens. I have already shown that the example you gave earlier can be shown to be wrong and that was a pretty extreme moral position.

Like I keep saying over and over, scientific evidence that an act is harmful doesn't equate to that act being wrong, depending on the moral system being used. In a moral system like "What's right and good is what benefits me personally.", rape and murder would be objectively good if it meets the criteria of the moral system.
 
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ToddNotTodd

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Like you said objective morality means you keep the same moral position and dont change.

That is absolutely not the definition of objective morality. You can believe you hold a moral system that is absolute and then later discover you were wrong and change to a different moral system. Holding onto beliefs has nothing to do with absolute morality whatsoever.
 
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Ygrene Imref

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That is your definition, not God's definition.


No, I said animals are not MORAL beings, you misread my post. There is no evidence animals have a moral conscience. A chimp will kill and eat baby chimps and never get punished by the other chimps or show any evidence of feeling guilty about it.



I already showed you earlier in this thread where both Jesus and Paul stated or behaved as if the ceremonial laws and civil laws no longer apply to Christians in the New Covenant. So I am not going to repost those verses again.



Already did. Not going to rehash those again. And I know that since you don't believe in the ENTIRE Canon of God, you will not accept it.


See above.


You Are being purposefully dishonest, or ignorant, if you can with a straight face say that God and/or Christ ever said their Word/Law was conditional, null or void.

It is a very dangerous doctrine to teach: and, notice I asked for only when God or Christ said this, and It never fails that one brings up a human - namely Paul. WHO IS GREATER?

So, again:

Show me one place where God Himself ever said that His word is null, void or inactive. Show me one place where God Himself, or the Word of God Himself says this.

Not Paul, not Peter, not MOSES, not any other human except for Christ.

You did not show this anywhere.
Other than that, I don' care much aboutbour exchange. It needs massive help anyway. But, you are jot being truthful, or you are being very ignorant if your answer to

Show me one place where God Himself ever said that His word is null, void or inactive. Show me one place where God Himself, or the Word of God Himself says this
is

I already have.
Especially if you have to bring up a human to substantiate it. The Word of God stands alone.
 
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stevevw

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No, it's an opinion. It's not an argument. Opinions are subjective.
I continue to support my position. You keep continuing to not understand my position.
Actually it was an argument. You said I was committing a logical fallacy which can only be used in an argument ie' you said,

Between the two of us, you’re definitely the one that doesn’t seem to understand that potential objectivity in a system doesn’t translate into that system being objective. You’re committing an obvious logical fallacy here. There’s no way for you to objectively show that any given moral system isn’t objective, because there’s nothing in the definition of morality that indicates what system should be used.

so you needed to support this with some evidence.

Like I keep saying over and over, scientific evidence that an act is harmful doesn't equate to that act being wrong, depending on the moral system being used.
yes it does becuase for the act to be objectively wrong it has to stand independent of human opinion. Science can show that any moral based personal view that harms peoples wellbeing is wrong based on research into what that moral act does to people. Moral acts can only apply to humans and we know from science that the effects of those moral acts do damage to the person doing the asct, the victim and the greater society. This threatens peoples and societies very survival and is an evolutionary and scientific fact which is independently proven.
In a moral system like "What's right and good is what benefits me personally.", rape and murder would be objectively good if it meets the criteria of the moral system.
No becuase objectivity has to be independent of human opinion. Whatever that persons personal view about their moral system is is not objective but it is subjective. So when science shows that rape and murder are objectively wrong becuase it causes harm to a human the science will trumps any personal opinion and show that depsite the person thinking it right it is wrong and will be wrong no matter what.
 
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stevevw

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That is absolutely not the definition of objective morality. You can believe you hold a moral system that is absolute and then later discover you were wrong and change to a different moral system. Holding onto beliefs has nothing to do with absolute morality whatsoever.
I meant becuase the moral stands indpendent of human opinion and view it stands in all situations. If heat is objectively true to boil water then it stands and remains the same despite personal opinion and view that says ice or staring at water makes it boil. It is the same for a moral absolute.
 
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stevevw

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No one "supports subjectivity". That phrase is nonsensical. I use language that fits the situation, as I did when I wrote the above.
No, you provided "scientific evidence" that supports the idea that science can help to determine what's harmful. What you continually fail to realize is that it doesn't support objective morality because valid moral systems don't have to deal with "harm" in the same way.
What you continue to fail to do is read the support I posted which will also show how scientifically showing that certain acts are morally wrong no matter what the individual decides independently shows the act harms others.

It does not stop the individual believing that their personal view is right for themselves but it does stop that indiviudals view that their version of harm is ok because the science trumps that version and shows their version of harm is objectively. The science stands independent of any human view. IE if the persons version of harm sayss that smoking is OK then science can show that their version is wrong becuase it independently showed that smoking was bad through medical science.
 
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stevevw

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Yes, particular for any given person. That obviously doesn't mean that there is only one particular system.
Now your injecting meaning into it that is not there.

That's the whole point. If objectivity was so intrinsic to the word "morality", it seems as though it would appear in the definition. On the other hand, subjectivity is implied because the definition implies more than one system.
under that logic the definition would also have to state that morality is subjective. To use implications as evidence is not verification. As I said you could easily imply that the meaning was for a particular moral system only by the words that say "a particular system" meaning just one system of conduct.
a particular system of values and principles of conduct.
The same as this version of meaning
the extent to which an action is right or wrong.
nothing in that meaning speaks about subjectivity or objectivity.
So the dictionary meaning of morality is not the best way to determine morality, nor does it exclude morality from being objective. You are etaking liberties with the meaning and using it for how you personally view it.
That's not logic. It's two logical fallacies (argument from authority and argument from popularity) in two sentences.
I have based this on a scientifically verified survey. It is not an appeal to authority but rather using the authority of the science behind the survey to substanciate what I say. An appeal to authority would be just that an appeal to a person/s reputation/position alone without any scientific verification. An appeal to popularity alone just based on unqualified opinion would support your claim but these opinions are qualified in that they are from the sector that deals directly with ethics and morality. Afterall if we want an opinion on cars we go to a car mechanic. If we get the majority of mechanics saying similar things we can trust that this will be the right advice or claim. We do this everyday with quotes ect and is a valid way of authenticating something.
The PhilPapers Surveys
Meta-ethics: moral realism or moral anti-realism?
Accept or lean toward: moral realism 525 / 931 (56.4%)
Accept or lean toward: moral anti-realism 258 / 931 (27.7%)
Other 148 / 931 (15.9%)
Preliminary Survey results | PhilPapers Surveys

So why would these academics support moral realism over twice those who don't if the dictionary meaning supports subjective morality. Would not these academics who specialise in the area that deals with ethics and morality know better than anyone what the meaning of morality is yet they still support objective morality.
 
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stevevw

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Who says I do? I can come up with countless examples.
Well I have already shown that the one example you used was wrong, lets see if I can do it with the others. he point is other examples are going to be similar variations of the same example.

Your incredulity does not invalidate my point. This person has a moral system as subjective as any moral system.
I am not denyiong that. I am saying his subjective position is unreal. We could say a person does not care or show empathy towards others and therefore his subjective moral position does not consider what science says about harm. But his moral position is also invalid because he is a pychopath as psychopaths are incapable of determining right from wrong in not having a conscience. You have to be realistic about your examples. Even if we accepted this scenario it can be proven from reason and logic that a person who kills for a job will do other things similar and will suffer themselves from their own behavior. In otherwords their own moral position becomes hyocritical becuase it does not do what they claim it does.

As I also pointed out even if we overlook all that the science still shows that depsite them saying that their moral system does not care about evidence from science the evidence from science still stands and proves them wrong. THe killing still causes harm objectively because the science independently proved that. So any example of a person who thinks anything that has been shown by science to have grave consequences for others and themselves will be invalid.

Then obviously that particular murder was ultimately bad and wrong, according to that person's system. It's not a requirement for any particular moral system that the rightness or wrongness of any particular moral action be known to absolute certainty before the action is taken. Indeed, most moral systems have a certain amount of situational ethics attached to it, which means that we rely on the information we have on hand to judge an action before we act, but can't absolutely know the outcome of that action.
But it does expose the persons credibility about their own moral system if what they say is right keeps getting shown to be wrong based on their own criteria for what is right and wrong. That is good evidence to show that their moral system is wrong without even appealing to the science.

You are acknowledging that we can use information to assess if an act is right or wrong. But it is a bit of a cop out to say the person cannot know if their own system is wrong absolutely. In fact it was obvious that the example you gave was wrong to the person by the fact it was against the law let alone the science showing it was wrong becuase it ended a human life and that comes under the independent evidence of science showing it effects human wellbeing. Despite the person not caring about the law and science they both independently show the persons moral position was objectively wrong.
 
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ToddNotTodd

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Well I have already shown that the one example you used was wrong, lets see if I can do it with the others.

No no no no no. Ok, going to try one last thing to get you to see why you're wrong. I can't keep wasting time like this.

You've shown that my example is wrong to you, subjectively. You haven't shown that the example is wrong objectively.

Here's your task:

Objectively equate the words "harm" and "wrong".

If you can do that, you can start to demonstrate that objective morality exists. If you can't, then you can't demonstrate that objective morality exists.

And here's the thing, you can't bring up science, because science can only demonstrate "harm" (although that's even a dicey position to take). Trying to imply that science can determine right or wrong involves your subjective opinion in equating "harm" and "wrong".

If someone uses the moral system "What is right and good is what benefits me personally.", then the word "harm" equals "wrong" to them primarily when it's applied to themselves, not universally. In other situations, "harm" does not equal "wrong" to them.
 
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Ken-1122

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Well I didn't see any evidence that they DID have steel reinforcements, but anyway there is evidence that Noah may have had iron, so could have used iron reinforcements, or gopher wood may have had certain properties that modern trees do not have and therefore may not have needed any reinforcements. Or the pitch that he covered the ark with may have acted as reinforcement.
They didn't have iron back then either; and todays pressure treated wood is better than anything natural that could have been used back then
The same reason they are not salty now. See Why is the ocean salty?
The link explains why the ocean is salty, it doesn’t explain how a once salty lake would lose its salt
But the sun IS there, it was created BEFORE day 1, Genesis 1:1. The conjunctive phrase "heavens and earth" is the Hebrew way of saying the entire physical universe. So the sun was already created before day/age 1..
No; the bible is very clear; the light that rules the day, (Sun) and the light that rules the night (moon) was created on the 3rd day
 
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Ken-1122

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Of course science proved smoking was bad. It was the only thing that could have proved it was bad.
Smoking was proven bad 30-40 years prior to the lawsuit. If the lawsuit was about the harmful effects of smoking, the lawsuit would have been introduced back in the 30’s and 40’s when the harmful effects was proven.

That doesnt make sense. How can the people in charge have both objective and subjective moral positions at the same time.
They don’t! All moral positions are subjective, objective morality doesn’t exist; but people act as if it exist. When people think of moral issues, they don’t think of objective or subjective, they think of right and wrong and they think their position is right. Both Wilberforce and the law makers of the time thought their positions were equally right; Wilberforce and others were able to prove their position right thus the law makers changed their position on the issue.

If you believe you have an objective moral position you do not change. Like you said objective morality means you keep the same moral position and dont change. The only person that kept their moral position and did not change was William Wilberforce who said slavery is wrong and is always wrong no matter what a persons personal view about slavery is.
Most reasonable people are willing to change their opinions on an issue when proven wrong. I’’m sure Wilberforce would have changed his mind on the issue if he were proven wrong. He was just on the right side of the moral argument this time.
 
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stevevw

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No no no no no. Ok, going to try one last thing to get you to see why you're wrong. I can't keep wasting time like this.

You've shown that my example is wrong to you, subjectively. You haven't shown that the example is wrong objectively.
I have shown that the example was wrong independent of my view. Science showed that his actions of killing would cause his own and others well being to suffer. That science came from psychology, human behavior science and the laws of cause and effect which tell us certain truths about what happens when we act in certain ways. Killing has a ripple effect on the life of the killer and on the victim, their family and society which produces a range of negative outcomes. This has been scientifically verified. Remember objectivity has to be independent of me or any human and the science is independent.

The wrong is because all humans know that there are certain moral positions that are better for producing a stable and happy society and killing disrupts that. That is why we have laws to stop killing. It stands to reason. This is explained below.
Here's your task:
Objectively equate the words "harm" and "wrong".
I have already done this and its is done below again as stated from MR Harris's article which you should have read when i posted it earlier.

If you can do that, you can start to demonstrate that objective morality exists. If you can't, then you can't demonstrate that objective morality exists.

And here's the thing, you can't bring up science, because science can only demonstrate "harm" (although that's even a dicey position to take). Trying to imply that science can determine right or wrong involves your subjective opinion in equating "harm" and "wrong".

If someone uses the moral system "What is right and good is what benefits me personally.", then the word "harm" equals "wrong" to them primarily when it's applied to themselves, not universally. In other situations, "harm" does not equal "wrong" to them.
I have already done that. You need to read this link and then address what it says. It answers all your objections.

Morality and values depend on the existence of conscious minds - and specifically on the fact that such minds can experience various forms of well-being and suffering in this universe. Conscious minds and their states are natural phenomena, of course, fully constrained by the laws of Nature (whatever these turn out to be in the end).
Why Science Can Determine Human Values – Opinion – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The author states morality cannot apply to something non human like a rock. So here we have established a basis for applying morality. If it applies to conscious minds then conscious minds can experience harm and this falls within the laws of nature. Therefore, there must be right and wrong answers to questions of morality and values that potentially fall within the purview of science. On this view, some people and cultures will be right (to a greater or lesser degree), and some will be wrong, with respect to what they deem important in life. That makes these right and wrong answers of morality moral truths.

So this is where your objections come in which are all answered in the article.
Some people worry that any aspect of human subjectivity or culture could fit in the space provided: after all, a preference for chocolate over vanilla ice cream is a natural phenomenon. Are we to imagine that there are universal truths about ice cream that admit of scientific analysis? The author states technically yes. Science could tell us why some people prefer chocolate to vanilla and why no one would like aluminium as an ice cream flavor.

These are ultimately questions about the human brain.
There will be scientific facts to be known here, and any differences in taste among human beings must be attributable to other facts that fall within the purview of science. If we were ever to arrive at a complete understanding of the human mind, we would understand human preferences of all kinds.

However, morality and values appear to reach deeper than mere matters of taste - beyond how people happen to think and behave to questions of how they should think and behave. And it is this notion of "should" that introduces a fair amount of confusion into any conversation about moral truth.

So the author states here that there are moral truths and makes the case.

If there are truths to be known about the mind, there will be truths to be known about how minds flourish; consequently, there will be truths to be known about good and evil.

Mr Harris addresses all your objections if you read what he says
Why Science Can Determine Human Values – Opinion – ABC Religion & Ethics (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
 
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stevevw

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Smoking was proven bad 30-40 years prior to the lawsuit. If the lawsuit was about the harmful effects of smoking, the lawsuit would have been introduced back in the 30’s and 40’s when the harmful effects was proven.
There was a lot of disputing the finding and for some time the cigarette companies were blaming other causes such as polution from cars and manufactoring. It was not until later in 1954 with a build up of evidence and lack of evidence from alternative causes that health authorities throughout the world announced without any reservation that smoking was the lone cause of lung cancer.

The American Cancer Society's National Board of Directors in 1954 announced ‘without dissent’ that ‘the presently available evidence indicates an association between smoking, particularly cigarette smoking, and lung cancer’.
The history of the discovery of the cigarette–lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll

They don’t! All moral positions are subjective, objective morality doesn’t exist; but people act as if it exist.
If they act like they exists then maybe they exist. I do not know why people are so scared of objective morality. I tend to think it is a more secure and comfortable way to exist. It means we know what is best and therefore are more assured of everyone being on the same page for certain best moral positions that will guarentee best outcomes. Otherwise with subjective morality we are continually undermining what is the best way to live because whenever we can find that someone will come along and challenge it.
When people think of moral issues, they don’t think of objective or subjective, they think of right and wrong and they think their position is right. Both Wilberforce and the law makers of the time thought their positions were equally right; Wilberforce and others were able to prove their position right thus the law makers changed their position on the issue.
But under subjective morality no one is more right and there is no way to absolutely determine who is more right so it is a fruitless argument to have. There can only be different or likes and dislikes like how people like or dislike icecream.

Most reasonable people are willing to change their opinions on an issue when proven wrong. I’’m sure Wilberforce would have changed his mind on the issue if he were proven wrong. He was just on the right side of the moral argument this time.
But that doesnt fit with subjective morality. No one can be proven wrong becuase there is no way to tell who is really right or wrong. It is only through objective morality that we can truly measure what is right and wrong for morality. We can say that there are varying levels of rightness and wrongness which can be discovered and therefore there is an ultimate best that can be discovered as well along the scale of varying right and wrong.
 
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