Is Morality Natural?

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  • Posted By: Joke Teller @ 09/15/2008 5:44:21 PM

    Killing the baby so you both won't die is called self preservation.

  • Posted By: rags55 @ 09/15/2008 5:29:35 PM

    The moran who wrote this story failed to mention that the woman in the cae actually was freed using a pulley and grease and the 22 remaining tourists took the situation fairly well...please tell the whole story before twisting and making seem like a moral dilemna

    • Posted By: dcl3500 @ 09/15/2008 5:41:34 PM

      Read the entire article, in the end the author tells us the moral dilemma was avoided with 10 hours of time and paraffin wax. Put simply, the lady was freed before the need to eliminate her

  • Posted By: YSM7 @ 09/15/2008 5:33:29 PM

    There are actions and thoughts that are universally right or wrong. For example, it's wrong to murder (i.e. unjustified killing); however, people differ on what is considered murder. Some would say capital punishment is murder and some wouldn't. Regardless, murder is something that is universally categorized as wrong. The question is where does this idea of right and wrong come from? Or where do these categories of right and wrong come from? An atheist would say it's nothing more than evolution; after all, how could a species survive if it as a whole doesn't understand that it can't kill one another for no reason? I agree to a point, but I think evolution is merely a tool of God and not vice-versa, or that evolution just "is" and the system was coincidentally created at the big bang.it

  • Posted By: divinely speaking @ 09/15/2008 5:17:59 PM

    Every living thing has need to survive and perpetuate. Morality is a means of establishing social order for safety and security. Morality and survival instict go hand in hand. Morality establishes certainty of expectation, predictability in interaction. We expect that the next fellow will act in certain moral way in certain situations. In the time of war, the expectations change, because outcome change. Nothing is moral about war. But we overwhelmingly support war against communist or terrorists. Why? It eliminates short term deviation from norm, and hopefully leads to the moral, civil, safe and secure society.

  • Posted By: Bernhard Meck @ 09/15/2008 5:12:19 PM

    Still not sure why some creatures abandon their young in nature, or why so many creatures fornicate without attempting reproduction. Why did my dog carry off a runt puppy to leave it under a neighbors house? Does sex ( fornication) possibly serve some social comfort mechanism? Are we sure that it is 'against nature' if nothing comes of it? Not like insufficient population growth is a major problem in most societies. But then what do I know. Why don't I ask a bible-thumper - they have all the answers.

  • Posted By: divinely speaking @ 09/15/2008 5:05:19 PM

    The answer to this dilemma is explained in the Hindu Epic of Mahabharata in general, and the Bhagvad Gita in particular. When I was in India growing up, I never believed in these mythological tales. As I grew older and with many years of experience behind me, I discovered the depth of the meaning in these epics. These books are absolute masterpieces. In fact, the Bhagvad Gita is all about identification and resolution of conflicts. Creed, need, deed, greed and breed all play role in resolving a moral conflict. Combine the moral of these epics with a simple fact that everything, living or non-living, is the manifestation of the three forces in nature: Creative Force or Brahma, Dispersive Force or Shiva, Perpetuative Force or Vishnu. At any given time, any one of these three forces will make you play out your act for the outcome you desire. Beware that the outcome is already determined. All one can do is try, and try one must.

  • Posted By: paulos1 @ 09/15/2008 4:59:14 PM

    C S Lewis, in his classic book "Mere Christianity', discusses the moral law that all humans intuitively respond to. He says that this points to a moral law-giver, and then that this is God. I would like to see some of your opinions on his line of thinking.

  • Posted By: slydog77 @ 09/15/2008 4:58:08 PM

    Even heavily debated morality issues like abortion and homosexuality have their con positions reinforced by the natural law of species survival through procreation, both of these activities are anti-procreation and therefore anti species survival

  • Posted By: slydog77 @ 09/15/2008 4:55:14 PM

    Even heavily debated morality issues such as abortion and homosexuality have their basis in natural predisposition of species survival through procreation...to survive a species must procreate and both of these activities are anit-procreation

  • Posted By: curlyfries110 @ 09/15/2008 4:51:53 PM

    lgove that is absolutely unreasonable. If someone were to break into my house and threaten me and or my family.....sorry bub but they gotta go and there is nothing morally wrong with defending my family against attack. So I hope in your case noone ever breaks into you house cause all you will do is watch your family perish

  • Posted By: lgove @ 09/15/2008 4:40:24 PM

    Regardless of the circumstances it is morally wrong to take another persons life.

    • Posted By: gamerk2 @ 09/15/2008 4:48:35 PM

      Wow, its about time someone published an article like this. Didn't expect it to be newsweek though...

      As has been proven time and time again, you don't need to be religious to have a sense of "right" and "wrong" (despite what the Evangelicals want you to believe). Also notice the quotations; Right and Wrong are man-made, and subject to change based on the opinions of society. Right and Wrong can be defineds as what is and is not acceptable by society at a given point in time.

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