Quote:
Originally Posted by recluse
I have a question.
Although it appears that organized religon in general has become unpopular, the concept of a clear set of moral guidelines with which to live by seems, to me, to be increasingly important. It is almost as if society, as it turns it's back on religon, is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Where does one find moral guidelines in a religon free world?
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I think that's great question, but I think the better question is simply, Where does one find ethical guidelines? There's an entire branch of philosophy dedicated to addressing that question. The answers aren't easy, but the fact that they are considered important enough to occupy some of the finest minds this world has produced is encouraging. Humans seem to be hard-wired for social behavior, which is impossible without some sort of sense of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. (I'm not saying we're the only terrestrial species that exhibits this trait, but it does seem to go hand in hand with the greater intelligence of our particular species.)
Many solutions have been put forward to the question of "How, then, shall we live," from the deontological ethics of philosophers like Kant to the Utilitarian philosophers like Jeremy Bentham, with every possible shade in between.
I think one of the main problems is how to get these concerns out of the ivory towers and into the streets, i.e., how do we produce an ethical society?