So, I’ve been chatting with my buddies lately, and it’s turned into a bunch of debates about right and wrong. I think I have a pretty solid moral compass, I’m not bragging haha, but most people I know can’t really explain why something’s right or wrong without getting all circular or contradicting themselves.

So, how do you figure out what to do? No judgment, just curious. I’ll share my thoughts below.

Thanks!

  • markovs_gun@lemmy.world
    41·
    7 hours ago

    1. Accept the things you can’t change, and improve the things you can change. I disagree with the classical stoics on their emphasis on individual action and think that these principles can and should be applied on a societal level.

    2. Mind your own business. If someone is doing something that doesn’t have any real impact on your life or the lives of people you care about, ignore it. If someone is gay or trans that doesn’t impact you at all. If someone has weird religious beliefs, let them believe them as long as they’re not hurting anyone.

    3. The supernatural should be ignored for society level decisions because it cannot be proven and hasn’t been demonstrated. If someone wants to go to a psychic or astrologer for personal decisions I disagree with that but that’s on them.

    4. Everyone has a god they worship. It may not be Jesus or Allah, but it may be money, a sport team, or maybe a musical band. Ritual and community are things that make us feel good. Coming together with a group of people for a common cause to enjoy something together is built into our psychology. The problem of replacing religion with bands and sports teams is that it comes with the fun parts of religion without the discussion of morality or urging to do good that religion can bring. You don’t see Kansas City Chiefs fans giving 10% of their income to the poor, for example. My ideal world would have secular temples to Reason where people come together to sing and discuss philosophy and work together for a common good. This one is weirder than the others and I won’t be mad if anyone thinks this is absurd. I just think that we have rejected religion without having a satisfactory replacement for the good things it provides.

    • lefaucet@slrpnk.net
      4·
      4 hours ago

      You might want to check out Unitarian Universalists

      Their whole thing is a long the lines “No body knows for sure, so let’s respect each other’s beliefs and celebrate what we have And do some good for folks where we can”