Jonathan Walther wrote:
TMC wrote:
My "true position" is that there are no absolute morals, and that all frames of reference are equal.
That's the morality of a sociopath, and not conducive to cohesive communities.
This reminds me of the (now thankfully rare) response to atheism that says that infidels can't have any ethical principles. Of course it's quite possible to derive ethical principles from a source other than religious beliefs about God's opinions. I manage to do this, for example, without difficulty.
Now you imply that if someone has *no* absolute ethical principles, then they're incapable of acting morally (that is, they're sociopathic). This is equally false; it's quite possible to act morally on a basis other than your own absolute ethical principles. I manage to do this too, as it happens, although I'm a weak example (I have ethical principles, as per the previous paragraph, but I often restrict my behaviour morally even when my ethical principles argue otherwise); I know some other people with no ethics whatsoever that provide better examples.
-- Toby