In formulating our philosophy of life, is it responsible to simply adopt an existing system of
beliefs and ethics? If so, how do we decide which system to choose?
The articles below delve into these issues. But in brief, here is a synopsis of my thoughts.
It is not responsible to simply accept what our culture teaches without question.
It is our duty as citizens of the world to recognize that there are many different cultures
and beliefs. It's not likely that we just happened to be born into the "right" one!
If we are to question our culture's beliefs, what standard can we use to determine right from wrong?
I believe the answer lies in empathy: that feeling of connectedness we all have inside of us.
It is a feeling, sadly, that patriotism and religion often trample upon in putting forward their
own agendas.
Few genuine acts of terrorism are ever committed outside the names of religion and/or patriotism.
These are the two main culprits in subverting our sense of empathy.
As children we cry when we see others crying. We cringe at the thought of taking a barbed hook
and pushing it through a live squirming worm. We hesitate to pull the rifle's trigger when an innocent
animal stares back at us. As young idealists we march against war and sing songs of peace.
But then we "grow up". Our religion teaches us that it is humans whom God died for, and animals
were put here for our use. We listen to the "pastor" recount his deer hunting story as part of
his sermon, and we see the "Support Our Troops" decal on his SUV... We buy into the comfortable
illusion that everything is here for our benefit, and we thank our religion and our country for
such a "high standard" of living.
Religions have posed as the bastions of morality. So much is this so that it is generally
assumed that to call someone "godless" or an "atheist" or even a "non-Christian" is
tantamount to calling them immoral. But this is a skewed view of reality. Morality existed
long before Christianity and the other major religions of our day. People have never needed
religion to coerce them into acting morally. Sane individuals who have been raised with love
are naturally moral. The danger of associating morality with religion is that when religion
finally goes the way of ancient mythology, some may mistakenly throw the baby out with the
bath water. It is better to understand right now that morality need have nothing to do with
religious beliefs.
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