Atheists Also Have A Definite Moral Code
Morality has been hijacked by religion. When British historian Arnold Toynbee said this in a ure, the French existentialists and tiers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert mus doffed their hats to him because h were lifelong non-believers, yet ey had their own ethical values and of exalted morals. It's perhaps the most inveterate tion among the people all over the rld that non-believers and atheists ve no morals (and often no hearts). religion has nothing to do with one's prals and intrinsic compassion. pole with no faith and no belief in any per natural power can be morally as od as their religious peers. Nature has endowed us with free will. eall have undergone a long process of elution with a definite sense of good d bad. Religion and god were created, or should i say concocted, to control, regulate and moderate our feral instincts. An overall sense of esoteric fear was slowly built up for people to act ina manner that was in agreement with the then primitive society's limited needs. But there have been people in all ages and times, who've their own independent way of thinking, shorn of any divine compulsions and complications. Yet, they never went berserk and always followed their own morality. Most Greek and Roman philosophers and writers like Diogenes, Epicurus, Sophocles and Ovid among others never believed in the pagan gods of Greeks and Romans and rejected the idea of hell, heaven and afterlife. Despite that, they were great moralists, who followed universal values. And it was Diogenes who was the first man to suggest that a rapist had no place in a civilised society and he must be banished, but not killed. Gautama Buddha never believed in any god or supernatural power. In fact, the core of Buddha's philosophy is atheism. Yet, Buddha is still considered to be an epitome of compassion and rectitude. So was his contemporary Vardhman, who became Mahavira. Jainism is yet another atheistic faith but Mahavira was a compassionate moralist. Even Charvaka (Hedonistic school of Indian philosophy) never believed in god and rejected all beliefs, had a moral code and its proponents were not anarchists. So too the followers of Saankhya Darshan. They don't consider god to be the creator of the universe but have a deepsense of reverence for all creatures and the cosmos. Their moral code is in sync with humanity and all that's Goodland noble in mankind. My friend, philosopher, mentor and professor Zaifa Ashraf left her religion(Islam) at the age of 17 and when she died athe age of 57, her last wish was that her mortal remains should be donated to a medical college and all he usable body parts must be used forth poor and needy. I still meet a 16-year-oloyoung girl who sees the world with the good professor's eyes and she never forgets to thank the departed lady. ProAshraf was a staunch atheist, yet she was filled with humane qualities and was morally upright. Considering all of this, to me, a genuine moralist is one who's good to and doesn't hurt anyone; does not expiry reward from any god or religion. Non-believers can be altruistic and moralistic without any ulterior motivic reaping rewards in heaven.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sumit Paul kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Sumit Paul Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Atheists Also Have A Definite Moral Code
Morality has been hijacked by religion. When British historian Arnold Toynbee said this in a ure, the French existentialists and tiers Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert mus doffed their hats to him because h were lifelong non-believers, yet ey had their own ethical values and of exalted morals. It's perhaps the most inveterate tion among the people all over the rld that non-believers and atheists ve no morals (and often no hearts). religion has nothing to do with one's prals and intrinsic compassion. pole with no faith and no belief in any per natural power can be morally as od as their religious peers. Nature has endowed us with free will. eall have undergone a long process of elution with a definite sense of good d bad. Religion and god were created, or should i say concocted, to control, regulate and moderate our feral instincts. An overall sense of esoteric fear was slowly built up for people to act ina manner that was in agreement with the then primitive society's limited needs. But there have been people in all ages and times, who've their own independent way of thinking, shorn of any divine compulsions and complications. Yet, they never went berserk and always followed their own morality. Most Greek and Roman philosophers and writers like Diogenes, Epicurus, Sophocles and Ovid among others never believed in the pagan gods of Greeks and Romans and rejected the idea of hell, heaven and afterlife. Despite that, they were great moralists, who followed universal values. And it was Diogenes who was the first man to suggest that a rapist had no place in a civilised society and he must be banished, but not killed. Gautama Buddha never believed in any god or supernatural power. In fact, the core of Buddha's philosophy is atheism. Yet, Buddha is still considered to be an epitome of compassion and rectitude. So was his contemporary Vardhman, who became Mahavira. Jainism is yet another atheistic faith but Mahavira was a compassionate moralist. Even Charvaka (Hedonistic school of Indian philosophy) never believed in god and rejected all beliefs, had a moral code and its proponents were not anarchists. So too the followers of Saankhya Darshan. They don't consider god to be the creator of the universe but have a deepsense of reverence for all creatures and the cosmos. Their moral code is in sync with humanity and all that's Goodland noble in mankind. My friend, philosopher, mentor and professor Zaifa Ashraf left her religion(Islam) at the age of 17 and when she died athe age of 57, her last wish was that her mortal remains should be donated to a medical college and all he usable body parts must be used forth poor and needy. I still meet a 16-year-oloyoung girl who sees the world with the good professor's eyes and she never forgets to thank the departed lady. ProAshraf was a staunch atheist, yet she was filled with humane qualities and was morally upright. Considering all of this, to me, a genuine moralist is one who's good to and doesn't hurt anyone; does not expiry reward from any god or religion. Non-believers can be altruistic and moralistic without any ulterior motivic reaping rewards in heaven.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Sumit Paul kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Sumit Paul Speaking Tree ,Times of India