ETHICS IN THE LIGHT OF HUMANIST PHILOSOPHY

ETHICS AND RULES OF RIGHT AND WRONG

What you do mean when you call an action objectively wrong?
It means it is harmful and should not have been done whether the doer of the deed knows/thinks it or not. It is wrong in itself.
 
What do you mean when you call an action subjectively wrong?
I am saying that it is an action that is intended to be bad. Even if it is good it is still meant to be bad.
 
Which action is the worst?
To hurt somebody deliberately means you have some idea of what you are doing. There will be a limit on what you would do to them. Not knowing means you could hurt them worse. There is no limit on the harm you would do. If doing harm is not as important as intending to do harm then it follows that the suicide bomber who believed that the people whose lives he took would be saved by him from Hell then he should be a saint.
 
When there are so many different theories of right and wrong, what is the perfect one?
Maybe none of them are perfect so we just choose the best. One that takes supernatural revelations into consideration must not be considered because

Why do we need rules?
Because if we don’t have them people who break them could say they do so because they meant well.

Why should moral and legal rules should be reduced to the bare minimum?
Because rules that can be done without are extra burdens on the world.

Are women, children and men of every race, religion and sexual orientation all equal?   
Yes - one person has the same value as another for what we have be it beauty or skin colour or intelligence or inclination was given to us by nature so we cannot boast.

Is the life of each and every person the most important thing there is?
It is. The life of a person is more important than the kind of life they have for it makes no sense to say that it is a good quality of life that is for that does not tell us why a person should have it. If the good life is important it is because the person comes first and is more valuable.

If life is of absolute or total importance what does that tell you?
That life should only be ended when it is the only way to avoid more people dying. I should kill the person who attacks me to kill me if it is not my doing that I am being attacked and if there is no other way to survive.

When is war acceptable?
Only when it is the only way to stop an unjust aggressor and when without it there would be a greater loss of life. Really just wars happen a lot less than you would be led to believe. Capital punishment is wrong.

Does belief in divine beings undermine the absolute importance of human life?
Belief in Gods or God implies that the person is not very valuable for the Gods or God have made death and you are forbidden to judge God and are expected to encourage him to kill if he wants to so God is an evil belief for you are more sure that death is real than that he is.

Should we eat healthily and exercise our bodies and minds?
We should be health-conscious. It is obviously better to prolong life than to indulge in needless pleasure that will shorten it. There are other pleasures.

Do we approve of abortion on demand?
Only in the very early stages when there is no reason to consider the embryo to be a human person. Even if it has a brain it would be too primitive to make it conscious to any important degree. A baby should be aborted when it would be destined for a life of agony. It is wisest in this case to terminate the pregnancy in case it is not a person.

When is abortion at the later stage right?
Abortion at the later stage is never right unless it is the only way to save the mother’s life. If the baby is certainly dying and if the pregnancy is not terminated as soon as possible the mother will be gravely ill, it is right to abort the baby.

Is euthanasia wrong?
It is for each human life is priceless. But it should be a tolerable evil under extreme circumstances for we cannot legally forbid everything.

Why is superstition uncharitable?
 
`What is the relationship between superstition and magic?
There is no real difference. Both are trying to control the supernatural and therefore the natural. Both seek an unfair advantage over life and therefore other people.
 
What are the sexual acts that are wrong?
Only the ones that hurt or exploit another person without his or her agreeing to it in a mature way and ones which are used as a substitute for developing real self-esteem and independence.

Is homosexuality wrong?
Not as long as it produces happiness and is not abused. Rules about what is natural in sex are meaningless for nature has given many unusual ways to gain pleasure.

Is erotica forbidden?
It does no harm as long as there is no degradation and all involved fully consent. If sexual desire is wrong then it is always wrong for it needs to do harm to be wrong.

Why do Humanists disapprove of legal marriage?
It is not law that binds two people together it is their feelings for one another. If they are really united they don't need marriage. Nobody can truthfully promise that feelings won't change so marriage is nonsense and more about control than love. Couples do not need special favours - eg, paying less tax - from the state. The benefits should be based on helping them to look after their children. Legal marriage and civil partnerships should be abolished. Let people have their own marriage ceremonies if they wish but without legal recognition.
 
Does the law really believe in marriage?
Only nominally.

Is marriage a religious contract?
It is magic to think that vows really unite a couple for life. Marriage is degrading for it doesn't work unless the couple have sex at least once. It is not about love but about sex. Marriage has no place in a secular state.
 
How should we treat animals?   
We should treat them kindly. Animals should only be killed when it is essential for food or when they threaten the life of a person or if they are terminally ill.

What is the right thing to do in relation to eating meat?
The meat of the more intelligent animals should only be eaten when there is nothing else to eat. The less intelligent animals should only be eaten when it is necessary for the health and life of the supreme animal, humankind. And those who don’t know that they are alive should be eaten without any such limitations. But no avoidable suffering should ever be inflicted on an animal.
 
What does the fact that our desires are bad in the sense that they are least a bit painful when they crave something you don’t have tell us?
That we should fill our minds with the desire to be happy through making others happy for the lust for money and anger and hate are more painful and harder and therefore too painful. You should have desires you enjoy having because that makes

What are the nine ways in which we can cause and share in the badness of others and be as bad as they are?
Advising evil, commanding evil, agreeing to it, provoking evil, using flattery to get a person to do evil, concealing evil when it encourages it, actively assisting in the evil of others, by keeping silent instead of trying to talk people out of evil-doing or just walking on by when you could save a person from a criminal and by defending their evil action.