Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site umcp-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!umcp-cs!mangoe From: mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Where to morals come from? Message-ID: <1481@umcp-cs.UUCP> Date: Thu, 29-Nov-84 22:37:13 EST Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.1481 Posted: Thu Nov 29 22:37:13 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 30-Nov-84 17:44:42 EST References: <58@decwrl.UUCP> <608@amdahl.UUCP> Reply-To: mangoe@maryland.UUCP (Charley Wingate) Distribution: na Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD Lines: 24 In article <608@amdahl.UUCP> gam@amdahl.UUCP (Gordon A. Moffett) writes: >B F Skinner (my hero) said morals and morality are characteristics of >a particular culture, and their purpose is to ensure the survival of >that culture. They are, if you will, the defense mechanism that >maintains cultural identity. >So to say that "Thus and such is (morally) wrong" is to say "Thus and >such is detremental or harmful to (will cause to change) my culture." >Note that this is entirely relative. Human sacrifice in religious >ceremonies was morally right to the Aztecs, and to disallow this would >be to take part of their culture away. Unfortunately, Cortez took all >of it away. Does this mean that I have no right to judge the Nazis morally wrong, because I am a member of a different culture? I don't think I'm going to concede this right, because anyone can justifiably call themselves a culture of one. I also see a problem in that no person can then be considered to be more moral than his society. I should point out that all these difficulties are discussed in Bishop Krumm's _The Moral Climate_ [Forward Books; see your local Episcopal parish for a source], and have been batted around in the liberal theological community for years. Charley Wingate umcp-cs!mangoe