Time To Put The Mockers On Morality Debate

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 26 August 2024 It's Time For All Believers And Non-Believers To Understand That Morality Is Acquired And Accumulated Psycho-Social Behaviour That Has No Religio-Esoteric Basis. ------ It seems that someone is hell-bent upon believing that morality comes from god and religion and an atheist lacks integrity. Well, it could be his conviction and fixed beliefs, esp. religious ones, cannot be modified, let alone changed. But it's time for all believers and non-believers to understand that morality is acquired and accumulated psycho-social behaviour that has no religio-esoteric basis. Are things moral simply because god says so? Or does god give certain orders because they're inherently moral? This is the question at the core of Plato's Euthyphro Dilemma, a problem that lies at the heart of religious debates about the divinity of moral authority. If morality exists separate from god's will, there's no reason to rely on god for moral behaviour; one could have moral standards independently without divine feedback. On the other hand, if god creates morality simply by saying whether something is right or wrong, then that's not really morality; it's arbitrariness. Morality would become nothing more than the whimsy of a divine being blindly followed by humans. As science explores the nuances of human relationships, it becomes clear that morality can exist outside of religion. In fact, it's not even limited to humans. Altruistic behaviours have been observed in animals, particularly those with complex social structures. Fossils and DNA suggest that humans ( homo sapiens) like us came into existence approximately 300,000 years ago and 'behavioural modernity' evolved around 50,000 - 65,000 years ago. Human civilization started nearly 7 thousand years ago. At the moment, world's oldest existing faith is Zoroastrianism which's 4000-yr-old. After that came Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam and other minor faiths. So, where did the people prior to Zoroastrianism get their moral code from? They were also civilised and had moral values. If they got their moral code from lost, obscure and quasi-faiths, why didn't those faiths survive? It's obvious that those people developed their ethics and ethos through social interactions. Morality is not Ten Commandments given to a putative Moses by a fictional god. It's not a capsule to be swallowed. Morality is the sum total or apotheosis of human evolution. Don't dovetail it to any god or religion. Your Islam, Christianity and other faiths will disappear one day. But moral values shall remain forever. Remember, a permanent phenomenon doesn't stem from something impermanent like religion and god. Morals evolve and become universal. As for atheists being destitute of integrity, a religiously obstinate and blinkered mind cannot think better and it finds alternatives to be abhorrent. ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/mockers-morality-debate/d/133040 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism