Thursday 1 April 2010

What is morality?

There are no oughts, there is only existence and we will find often that people contradict themselves when they discuss what should be, particularly concerning the State; from David Hume...
In every system of morality, which I have hitherto met with, I have always remark'd, that the author proceeds for some time in the ordinary ways of reasoning, and establishes the being of a God, or makes observations concerning human affairs; when all of a sudden I am surpriz'd to find, that instead of the usual copulations of propositions, is, and is not, I meet with no proposition that is not connected with an ought, or an ought not. This change is imperceptible; but is however, of the last consequence. For as this ought, or ought not, expresses some new relation or affirmation, 'tis necessary that it shou'd be observ'd and explain'd; and at the same time that a reason should be given; for what seems altogether inconceivable, how this new relation can be a deduction from others, which are entirely different from it.
Moral nihilism cannot be falsified, as no form of nihilism can be falsified. We cannot make something true unless there is a phenomenon which gives rise to the truth, something in nature, but what is there in nature that we might identify as demonstration of an instruction on how to live; we cannot trust our senses on this, surely? For what reason (from what type of phenomenon) would we ever deduce a true morality?

Perhaps the existence of life itself suggests a morality; if we attack life by being aggressive, this is immoral? Unless nothing truly exists, there is only nothing and this is a dream, then can we say that life exists and then so does morality, selected by Darwinian evolution?

Is the World not moral? Nature would appear to select for a particular type of morality, in that we must collaborate, to a degree, to do well. If we aren't moral, as a group, we will fail, this is the prisoner's dilemma in life. Collaboration generally works, not always, but most of the time, which is why we have an affinity towards it, mostly. What reason is there to be immoral? There are only reasons to be moral, from what I have found...

There is morality in nihilism, not nature, cause and effect are a form of morality, are they not?

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