Provisional Rational Decalogue

Started by GSOgymrat, June 29, 2016, 05:21:23 PM

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GSOgymrat

I recently read The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People by Michael Shermer and he proposes a “provisional rational Decalogue,” which are ten moral principles to consider. These principles are true for most people in most circumstances most of the time. I thought they were very good and wanted to share them to see what other people thought. He explains each principle in more detail but here are the basics.

1.   The Golden Rule Principle: Behave toward others as you would desire that they behave towards you. The basic principle of exchange reciprocity and reciprocal altruism.

2.   The Ask-First Principle: To find out whether an action is right or wrong, ask first. The Golden Rule Principle has a limitation to it: what if the moral doer thinks differently from the moral receiver, e.g. smokers can’t ask themselves have they would feel smoking in a restaurant, they need to ask non-smokers.

3.   The Happiness Principle: It is a higher moral principle to always seek happiness with someone else’s happiness in mind, and never seek happiness when it leads to someone else’s unhappiness through force or fraud.

4.   The Liberty Principle: It is a higher moral principle to always seek liberty with someone else’s liberty in mind, never seek liberty when it leads to someone else’s loss of liberty through force or fraud.

5.   The Fairness Principle: When contemplating a moral action imagine that you don’t know if you will be the moral doer or receiver, and when in doubt err on the side of the other person. If I cut a cake you choose which piece you want, and if you cut the cake, I choose which piece I want.

6.   The Reason Principle: Try to find a rational reason for your moral actions that are not self-justifications or rationalizations by consulting others first.

7.   The Responsibility and Forgiveness Principle: Take full responsibility for your moral actions and be prepared to be genuinely sorry and make restitution for your wrongdoing to others; hold others fully accountable for their moral actions and be open to forgiving moral transgressors who are genuinely sorry and prepared to make restitution for their wrongdoing.

8.   The Defend Others Principle: Stand up to evil people and moral transgressors, and defend the defenseless when they are victimized.

9.   The Expanding Moral Category Principle: Try to consider other people not of your family, tribe, race, religion, nation, gender, or sexual orientation as an honorary group member equal to you in moral standing.

10.   The Biophilia Principle: Try to contribute to the survival and flourishing of other sentient beings, their ecosystems, and the biosphere as a whole.

Baruch

Nice.  To bad it doesn't apply to sociopaths and psychopaths.  Without those, history would die of boredom.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

GSOgymrat

Quote from: Baruch on June 29, 2016, 08:30:24 PM
Nice.  To bad it doesn't apply to sociopaths and psychopaths.  Without those, history would die of boredom.

The drama is only as good at the villain.

stromboli

Good stuff GSO. I've printed this up and put it on my wall. Thanks.

GSOgymrat

#4
Quote from: stromboli on June 30, 2016, 09:32:58 AM
Good stuff GSO. I've printed this up and put it on my wall. Thanks.

I've considered posting it to Facebook but I'm unsure if it is too long for social media. Twitter is 140 characters and on Facebook I get the impression if it isn't a picture people ignore it. I have a lot of very religious friends on Facebook and if they read it I think some will comment. I know one Christian who will jump on this immediately and say no one can live a moral life without Jesus.

I know Christians revere the Ten Commandments as the ultimate moral guide but I've never been that impressed with them. If Moses had come down the mountain with something resembling the Provisional Rational Decalogue and Jesus advocated these principles then I think the world would be a better place.

Baruch

Quote from: GSOgymrat on June 29, 2016, 10:20:48 PM
The drama is only as good at the villain.

For every protagonist, there is an antagonist, and a chorus decrying both.  But it isn't clear who is the hero and who is the villain.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

GSOgymrat

I decided to post the Provisional Rational Decalogue on Facebook. As I anticipated the Christian friend I mentioned in my previous post had a response. He referred me to this sermon:

http://www.westoverchurch.com/media/series/worldview/what-in-the-world-is-a-worldview/?media=video


One thing I found interesting was the pastor's belief that everyone knows God exists and that people who claim they don't believe are just suppressing the truth. He cites the Biblical passage to justify this belief. I have heard this assumption before but I didn't know where in the Bible it originated. I disagree with this assumption and don't believe that a creator, much less the God of the Bible, is self-evident. I did like that the pastor recognized that people have different world views and that the world view of a secular humanist like myself and the world view of a Christian cannot be reconciled. We disagree on a fundamental premise and from there we see the world very differently.

Baruch

The idea that everyone is a secret monotheist, will be greeted with derision by those who know that everyone is a secret polytheist!

Being that I have been studying ancient Greece and Rome lately, I am feeling more and more like a closet polytheist myself ;-)
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

GSOgymrat

Quote from: Baruch on July 11, 2016, 06:23:55 PM
The idea that everyone is a secret monotheist, will be greeted with derision by those who know that everyone is a secret polytheist!

Being that I have been studying ancient Greece and Rome lately, I am feeling more and more like a closet polytheist myself ;-)

There are many gods. The god of traffic lights, the god of great hair (who hath smited me), the god of orgasms...