I had never heard of Socrates Café until recently when I went looking for a local discussion group to keep my socialization and critical thinking skills current. The most recent topic (as I understood it) was whether or not it “we” should provide education in secular morality in schools. My thinking was that, although it might be nice, it would be next to impossible to reach any consensus on standards in our polyglot culture with “standards” all over the board.
Right off the bat, there was the argument over whether or not one could define morality or ethical behavior outside of a religious context. I believe that, if we’ve learned nothing else, we should have learned by now that, even within the same denomination of the same religion, there are few – if any – consistent standards. I believe, at its core, religion is individual and personal.
Typically, religious and civil standards are proscriptive (“Thou shalt not…) instead of prescriptive because there would be no end to a list of what should be done in any possible situation or circumstance. Even so, there is general disagreement over exactly what those proscriptive standards “mean.”
Thou shalt not kill; but in self-defense or in war or government sanctioned executions is killing acceptable? I’ve read the argument that the original word used for this commandment meant “murder;” but that is a semantic difference and one man’s “justifiable homicide” is another’s “murder.” When a “Right to Life” advocate murders an abortionist that might be a red flag that our ethical thinking is muddled.
Thou shalt not steal; but Robin Hood, Jesse James, and Bonnie and Clyde were folk heroes. If you or your loved ones will not survive unless you take what has not been earned or given to you then can’t stealing be justified?
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Secular ethics also tend to lack clarity in my view, and this has occasionally got me into trouble with regard to health care. The first rule of health care is to “Do No Harm,” but the entire industry of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery is alive and doing very well. Since any procedure, however minor, presents a risk of an adverse outcome, how does an ethical practitioner justify doing a procedure with no medical necessity?
The clearest series of statements on secular ethics that I know of is the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, but successive administrations and courts have parsed those into unintelligibility. (For instance, nowhere have I found where it says the Bill of Rights only applies to our treatment of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. They simply limit the power of the government to restrict civil rights, and the government has apparently found that to be inconvenient.)
The next topic is going to be whether or not intelligent people can be happy (whatever “intelligence” and “happiness” mean). I think they might just need to get over to the animal shelter and walk a dog. How’s that for an answer?
Six years I’ve been blogging now, and I still like the title “Always Question.” I very seldom have answers.
Yes, I like your suggestion. Go over to the animal shelter and walk a dog. It’s a simple solution and would do an amazing amount of good for the both the dog and the walker.