An Open Source Ethical System

[YankeyMCC]

This will likely only strike the intersection of the geek and atheist sets (isn't that a geeky enough start :) )

In the lounge someone started a thread "atheist got nothing" - just a friendly teasing, fun thing I think no offense was taken, at least not by me. But the response that came to my mind seemed clever enough to want to share with you guys directly and perhaps there's a serious side to the response you all might appreciate:

My response was basically that being atheists means your ethical code is like an open-source operating system (or any computer or network application or technology) because it is open and highly scrutinized ..everyone gets to look at your morals, question and investigate how well they are implemented and how the work and contribute methods of making the ethical code better.

[onager]

1. Gotta quote H.L. Mencken again...

Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong.

All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure."

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The worst government is the most moral. One composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top there is no limit to oppression.

[YankeyMCC]

2. Good one

that man had a pretty good mind. ;)

[Synnical]

3. Well, that pretty well sums it up, doesn't it?

Thanks for posting that one. Made me smile.

-Cindy