Where does an Atheist get there morals?

[Brock]

I have Discussed this with an Atheist friend of mine and would like to here other views. I have made the argument that Atheist lack a since of moral code because they have no after consequence. so were do they get there moral code and understanding. There Religious parents? if that’s the case than the Atheist morals are spread from that of there religious parents and are shaped by the Ideas that they no longer acknowledge. I mean no offense by this question i would just like better understanding on the issue.

[Will]

I have discussed this with an atheist friend of mine and would like to hear other views. I have made the argument that atheists lack a sense of moral code because they have no after consequence. Were do they get there moral code and understanding? Their religious parents? If that’s the case, then an atheist's morals are spread from that of their religious parents and are shaped by the Ideas that they no longer acknowledge. I mean no offense by this question i would just like better understanding on the issue.

It's called the social contract. Right and wrong are an unspoken, assumed agreement between people of a given society. If you treat me well, I will treat you well.

[Asmodean]

Yup. Will said it and I'll repeat it: Social Contract.

[Brock]

Thank you, that actually makes a lot of sense. but Cant that same thing be tracked to the Bible or are you saying its just a natural human understood thing?

[Asmodean]

Oh, Social Contract pre-dates the Bible by thousands of years. Yes, you can trace it to the Bible and continue tracing it straight back. Some people prefer to stop at the Bible and say "Goddidit" though, thus ignoring that civilisations existed even before that.

[Asmodean]

It just came to me that I love examples, so I'll post one...

Lemmesee... Let us pretend for a second that I really don't like... Willravel for instance. Why do I not hit him in the eye then? Because then he might hit me back for starters. Why don't I kill him so he can't hit me back then? Because then his wife might come at me in a fury like Hell hath no. And even if she does not, the police sure will.

Is there anything of the Bible in it? No. It's a simple fact that I don't want anything bad to happen to me, so I try not to make others upset with me. Besides, if I'm nice to them, they may assist me with something I can't do alone.

[SSY]

This kind of behavior is not even limited to humans. For example, male elephant seals will try to settle a dispute with aggressive posturing rather than tearing chunks out of each other, they understand that fighting is detrimental to both of them and one is going to lose anyway. For them fighting is the last resort.

Aside from the obvious social contract justification, I just don't like hurting people. I might want someones ice cream, but wouldn't steal because I do not want to upset them.

The notion that religious people only act nicley due to the magic sky man telling them to is always one that disturbs me    .

[Recusant]

Given that humans are social animals, and descend from a long line of social animals going back at least hundreds of thousands of years, I would say that a very basic 'morality' is probably hard-wired into our brains.  We have refined it and built on it, but I think it's in our nature to make some effort to get along with our fellows.  It's obviously stronger in some than in others, but I don't think that religion is required at all to live a moral life.  In fact we know only too well that many who do profess a religion live anything but moral lives.  I would go so far as to say that religion in the long run has little to do with the moral code that people (religious, or otherwise) live by on a day to day basis.  They may pay lip service to a certain religious moral code, but many times their actions are quite contradictory to that code.  It's often a much more realistic set of rules that govern their lives. Rules that could be put in the category of "common sense," which actually may be the manifestation of that social heredity I mentioned.
I readily admit I have no scientific credentials, and could not cite any studies to back up this thesis.  This is only my opinion on the subject.

[MariaEvri]

Every time someone suggest that morals come from the bible, I cant help but think that the bible also says to stone your children to death if they ever speak back to their parents.
Nice morals eh
Atheists, like all people, get their morals from their parents, their school and their common sense. I dont want to hurt people, I feel no satisfaction in doing so, and like others mentioned above me, if I hurt someone he might want to hurt me back

[Kylyssa]

The rules in the Bible come are cribbed from the Code of Hammurabi and assorted other legal documents which substantially predate the Bible.  The parts they didn't take from existing legal documents (yes, lawyers or their equivalent have been around for thousands of years) are strictly those parts which deal with belief in their specific God.  Those legal documents were commissioned by rulers to create uniform legal codes for the people of their domain to follow and apply.  They were all figured out by human judgment and trial and error.  This should explain the horrible Christian dichotomy of a loving God and all of the horrible, inhumane laws written in the Bible.  The laws were written by human beings with different ethics than our own, not by an all-knowing, loving God.

In my opinion, morals come from empathy.  Empathy is a survival trait because social animals require each other to survive.  I've already done a write up on this because Christians ask this question very frequently.  You can read it here.

[Whitney]

Thank you, that actually makes a lot of sense. but Cant that same thing be tracked to the Bible or are you saying its just a natural human understood thing?

Think of it this way.  If morals all originated from the Bible than people who follow other religions wouldn't have any morals.  However, I think we all know that people such as Hindus and Buddhists have morals.

[Whitney]

Topic Split:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2478&p=31384#p31384

Please continue any discussion of morality in the bible in the above linked thread.

Thanks
-The Management

[Wechtlein Uns]

Morality is a pretty fascinating subject. It's still not completely figured out yet, and while there are some basics like social contract and reciprocal action, I would like the topic of morality to be discussed from an information theory point of view. I think that might be interesting.

anyone?

[curiosityandthecat]

Please continue any discussion of morality in the bible in the above linked thread.

Isn't that a contradiction in terms? (Ba-dum.)  

[jrosebud]

interesting side-note:  someone somewhere (i need to find the article...) did a study on moral milestones in children and found that the most indoctrinated kids reached the important checkpoints *after* their peers.