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What are atheist values?

watsup said:
Well. I guess that's so, but I was talking more about ETHICAL values. A religious person insists that morality comes from God, so from whence do atheist gain their ethical values if they "don't believe in God"?
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Depends on the human being. What ethical values do those who do not believe in fairies possess?
 
Aunt Antifa said:
I don’t think there’s any such thing. Atheism is just someone’s approach to a belief in God. Values have nothing to do with that.
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I would argue that an atheist still has ethical values. From whence do those values come from. Religionists claim that their values come from their almighty and all-good God and that, as such, atheists simply cannot have moral values since they "don't believe in" that entity. Are they correct, or are there other places to gain ethical values?
We know the answer, but do they?
 
watsup said:
I would argue that an atheist still has ethical values. From whence do those values come from. Religionists claim that their values come from their almighty and all-good God and that, as such, atheists simply cannot have moral values since they "don't believe in" that entity. Are they correct, or are there other places to gain ethical values?
We know the answer, but do they?
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I did not say they don’t have ethical values.
 
I notice a general lack of believers in this thread. I wonder why that is? Especially when one of them recently made a post about "atheist values" (probably indicating a lack thereof).
 
watsup said:
I notice a general lack of believers in this thread. I wonder why that is? Especially when one of them recently made a post about "atheist values" (probably indicating a lack thereof).
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They know what would happen if they joined in and so do we. Total embarrassment for them.
 
watsup said:
So I am asking from whence do they derive.
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In my case from my parents, who could hardly be described as religious. They brought me up to be decent by example.
 
watsup said:
Can't disagree with that. Are there any societal or cultural values that could be considered as negative?
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I guess that I'm getting into politics here by thinking about Trump and his supporters. *L*
 
watsup said:
In another thread, Valery referred to “atheist values”, no doubt in a derogatory manner.
So let’s make it a thread to do a deeper dive.

I’ll start. My concept of the reality of the physical universe is gained through science.
My ethical concepts are gained through Humanism, which is the understanding that we humans need to develop the values which will allow us to live in a harmonious society. No murder, no stealing, and an absolute minimum of lying are the foundation. Respect for one another and for life, per se, are also necessary.
There. That’s a start.
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"Absolute minimum of lying." Lol...
 
watsup said:
So I am asking from whence do they derive.
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If they have any morals or values, they are borrowed from religious teachings.


A proper atheist doesn't have values or morals. They believe in "moral relativism". Basically, for real atheists, morals and values don't exist.


But they don't want to go to jail, so they are coerced into behaving.
 
zyzygy said:
That is the same for everyone. Many believers only pay lip service to their beliefs. At least atheists are honest and not hypocritical.
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If atheists were truly honest they'd abandon atheism as I did.
 
swing_voter said:
If they have any morals or values, they are borrowed from religious teachings.


A proper atheist doesn't have values or morals. They believe in "moral relativism". Basically, for real atheists, morals and values don't exist.


But they don't want to go to jail, so they are coerced into behaving.
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You have it exactly backwards. The "morality" of religion and its associated "God" was basically borrowed from the values that societies had developed prior to their formal introduction into the tenets of religion. "Religious teachings" were just the overlay of myth and superstition onto already existing ethical values.

And every ethical system uses "moral relativity", including all religions. "Killing is immoral--EXCEPT in the case of self-defense and war". Moral relativity. And the fundies support the serial adulterer lying scumbag amoral Trump--yet more "moral relativity". It's all over the place with religions and "believers".
 
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watsup said:
Did you even read your cited article? This is the second paragraph:
“Consistent with this evolutionary perspective, young children show a concern for fairness first inside, but not outside, of collaborative interactions with others in which they view their partners (but not free riders) as equally deserving participants.”

EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE. No mention of God or religion. Thank you for proving MY point.
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:2bow:


This is the barely coherent and grammatically inept speech of a man who desperately wants to be able to claim that he "cured coronavirus."

That's it, in a nutshell. When we do get a handle on this crisis, he wants to be able to pull out footage and declare "I called it! I said use this! I said try this! I told them to do this, it was my idea!" He's just doing it with lots of stupid stuff because he doesnt want to miss an opportunity. He's afraid 'the big one' will be mentioned and he wont get credit for it.

It's all about declaring himself the savior of the cv crisis and we'll hear all about it, esp in his campaign. (Which is basically each of his press briefings these days) --- Lursa
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watsup said:
Well. I guess that's so, but I was talking more about ETHICAL values. A religious person insists that morality comes from God, so from whence do atheist gain their ethical values if they "don't believe in God"?
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My thoughts are that if you need read a book to learn your ethics, then you have none.

Atheists question the existence of a God. There's nothing more to it than that.
 
watsup said:
Can't disagree with that. Are there any societal or cultural values that could be considered as negative?
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Of course. The infamous “ism’s” come to mind.
 
watsup said:
I notice a general lack of believers in this thread. I wonder why that is? Especially when one of them recently made a post about "atheist values" (probably indicating a lack thereof).
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I make no attempts to speak for others...beliefs, doctrines, and the Bible, I know...atheists personally, not so much...
 
watsup said:
This constant need for ad hom from you and the other believers is simply not a good look. How exactly does that fit into your “moral compass”? Do you teach your children to say negative things about other people? And if you don’t teach them to do so, they why do you? You do know that children learn most by example, right?
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That's an ad hom.
 
watsup said:
That certainly wouldn't apply to Trump, would it? Lies are as easy for him as breathing.
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Trump isn't responsible for atheist lies.
 
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