Absolute good and evil

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Is there absolute good and evil?

Contents 1 Christian views 2 Secular views 2.1 What kinds of evidence could count in favour of either of these? 2.1.1 Evidence for Absolute good and evil 2.1.2 Evidence for moral relativity 2.2 References

Christian views

Resources are needed. Feel free to find and add resources.

Secular views

Establishing that there are absolute truths in morality requires evidence, as of course does the opposite view.

What kinds of evidence could count in favour of either of these?

Evidence for Absolute good and evil

Points of evidence for moral absolutism include:

• there are judgments which are almost universally held to be true, such as that it is wrong to kill someone (without a very good reason).

Evidence for moral relativity

Points of evidence against moral absolutism include:

• People disagree significantly about what is morally true, such as what might count as a good reason for killing someone (for example, the debate about capital punishment).
• People disagree about how we discover moral truths. Some claim it is a matter of discerning the mind of God (and differ about the way we may do that, or what God thinks is moral), others think it can be discovered through a moral calculus such as the Utilitarians' "Greatest good of the greatest number".

References

It is true that if there is no God, there is no ultimate definition of what is 'good' and what is 'evil'. But the fact that we have concepts 'good' and 'evil' does not necessarily prove there is God making such definitions. For example, there is no absolute definition of 'hot'. And yet, from our biological perspective, we can judge what is 'hot' and what is not 'hot'. Similarly, 'pain', if there is no God, then there is no ultimate meaning as to whether 'pain' is 'good' or 'bad'. Yet we are biologically wired to interpret 'pain' as 'bad'. This is part of the preservation-of-the-self/preservation-of-the-species mechanisms. Also, we have the ability to empathize. I suspect that this is also a biological preservation-of-the-species mechanism. Therefore, I believe that our concepts of 'good' and 'evil' are simply conceptualizations of these biological functions. Despite the fact that many concepts don't have an ultimate meaning in a godless universe does not mean that they are without meaning to our biological nature.

Since Evil and Suffering Exist, A Loving God Cannot from Case Against Faith  Paul Jacobsen