Ch. 10 - Morality and Religion

Chris OConnor · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:41 am Post subject: Ch. 10 - Morality and Religion

Ch. 10 - Morality and Religion

You can post about Chapter 10 in this thread or create your own threads. The choice is yours. ::44

Mr. Pessimistic

I really like this chapter. And I see plenty of questions posed by Dennett. I refer to the comment Mad made about Dennett not posing any questions in another thread.

There is much in the way of a challenge in this chapter, but that is only a bad thing to those who are already on the defensive regarding athiests and those who attempt to examine their faith on a rational basis.

I think this was a very good book...but I accept the premises Dennett offers.

Mr. P.

Mr. P's place. I warned you!!!

The one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.

The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"

I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper

JulianTheApostate · Junior Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 308 Gender:

I'm back, after putting the book aside for a month. Anyway, the morality chapter didn't impress me, though I agree with its main conclusions. And I did like Steven Weinberg's quote at the start of the chapter.

Dennett didn't address some of the issues that I thought would turn up in this chapter: religion providing guidance about right & wrong, people finding strength & purpose from religion, etc. While Dennett is entitled to discuss whatever he wants, his topic choices threw me off.

I didn't care for his argument on page 295 that

...anybody who professed that a particular point of moral conviction is not discussable, not debatable, not negotiatable, simply because it is the word of God...should be seen to be making it impossible for the rest of us to take their views seriously...

In my mind, all moral beliefs are based on something fundamental that a person believes at a visceral level. For example, I believe the murder is immoral, while a safety net that ensures that everyone's physical needs are met is moral. Since I can't justify those beliefs objectively, why should a theist have to justify their moral beliefs stemming from religion?


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