Secular morality

Secular morality is the aspect of philosophy that deals with morality outside of religious traditions. Modern examples include humanism, freethinking, and most versions of consequentialism. Additional philosophies with ancient roots include those such as skepticism and virtue ethics. Greg M. Epstein also states that, "much of ancient Far Eastern thought is deeply concerned with human goodness without placing much if any stock in the importance of gods or spirits."[1]: 45  An example is the Kural text of Valluvar, an ancient Indian theistic poet-philosopher whose work remains secular and non-denominational.[2][3][4] Other philosophers have proposed various ideas about how to determine right and wrong actions. An example is Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative.

A variety of positions are apparent regarding the relationship between religion and morality. Some believe that religion is necessary as a guide to a moral life. According to some, this idea has been with us for nearly 2,000 years.[1]: 5  Others suggest this idea goes back at least 2,600 years as exemplified in Psalm 14 of the Hebrew Bible.[5] According to others, the idea goes back as far as 4,000 years, with the ancient Egyptians' 42 Principles of Ma'at.[6]

Others eschew the idea that religion is required to provide a guide to right and wrong behavior. The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics however states that religion and morality "are to be defined differently and have no definitional connections with each other".[7]: 401  Some believe that religions provide poor guides to moral behavior. Various commentators, such as Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Sam Harris (The End of Faith) and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great) are among those who have asserted this view.

  1. ^ a b Epstein, Greg M. (2010). Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-167011-4.
  2. ^ George Uglow Pope (1886). The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva Nayanar (PDF) (First ed.). New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-0022-3.
  3. ^ Lal, Mohan (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Vol. V. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. pp. 4333–4334. ISBN 81-260-1221-8.
  4. ^ Ramasamy, V. (2001). On Translating Tirukkural (First ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies.
  5. ^ Hermann Gunkel, Die Psalmen (61986), p. 233.
  6. ^ Richard, Lottie (15 May 2015). "42 Principles Of God Maat 2000 Years Before Ten Commandments". Liberal America. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Childress was invoked but never defined (see the help page).