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| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
Just think about it: Intrinsically-valuable, thinking persons do not come from impersonal, non-conscious, unguided, valueless processes over time. |
erm, what are these impersonal, non-conscious, unguided, and valueless processes?
| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
A personal, self-aware, purposeful, good God provides the natural and necessary context for the existence of valuable, rights-bearing, morally-responsible human persons. |
it does? how?
| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
That is, personhood and morality are necessarily connected; moral values are rooted in personhood. Without God (a personal Being), no persons - and thus no moral values - would exist at all: no personhood, no moral values. Only if God exists can moral properties be realized. |
erm, if moral values are rooted in personhood, why is a god required for their existence? and god isn't the only personal being around, i think i qualify to that definition myself.
| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
In reference to naturalistic or the evolutionary theory of ethics/morals based on survival:
| quote: | | Ethical awareness has only biological worth. Such an approach leaves us with the following problems: First, can we even trust our minds if we are nothing more than the products of naturalistic evolution, trying to fight, feed, flee, and reproduce? Charles Darwin had a "horrid doubt" that since the human mind has developed from lower animals, why would anyone trust it? Why trust the convictions of a monkey's mind? The naturalistic evolutionary process is interested in fitness/survival-not in true belief; so not only is objective morality undermined so is rational thought. Our beliefs-including moral ones-may help us survive, but there is no reason to think they are true. Belief in objective morality or human dignity may help us survive, but it may be completely false. The problem with skepticism (including moral skepticism) is that I am assuming a trustworthy reasoning process to arrive at the conclusion that I cannot trust my reasoning! If we trust our rational and moral faculties, we will assume a theistic outlook: Being made in the image of a truthful, rational, good Being makes sense of why we trust our senses/moral intuitions. |
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yes, we can trust our minds, even if we are nothing more than the products of naturalistic evolution. why can we trust our minds? because there is no practical alternative (barring some true display of an omnipotent being's existence via an otherwise impossible change of nature), and can not even visualize an alternative that would be in any way preferable. i could link you to a long discussion me and renegade (among other forum denizens) have had on the issue of free will a few years ago if you'd like, it touches on this very point.
on the other hand, i don't see how the fact our minds have evolved from those of lower beings would bring us to questions their trustworthiness. nor do i see why we should not trust the minds of lower beings to begin with.
furthermore, it seems like you're positing that interest in fitness/survival/et cetera undermines rational thought. how would that be? rational thought aides and facilitates fitness/survival/etc.
onwards, a conclusion that you can not trust your standard reasoning could be the most correct ones in various situations in which your knowledge is limited.
a high success rate for our senses and intuitions makes more sense as a reason for why we trust those faculties.
| quote: | Originally posted by Alex
To reinforce further the point about the God-morality connection, a number of atheists and skeptics have noted it. The late atheist philosopher J. L. Mackie said that moral properties are "queer" given naturalism:
Agnostic Paul Draper says: |
sorry, appeals to authority don't really impress me, particularly when those authorities are questionable .
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