Just Another Victim of the Ambient Morality

A locked posting in Another Place asks where morality comes from. So, let's polish that off in an LJ posting, shall we?

I find something like Ken Macleod's so-called True Knowledge tempting, at least as a fall back position (as the author of that page says). In the absence of a God, or at least, of one who cares enough to show herself plainly, what matters to you is what matters. If love, charity and loyalty are important to you, you should act to advance them as far as you can. Morality is whatever you can get away with, where "getting away" doesn't necessarily mean swindling people (although it might, there being no absolutes here), but merely advancing things which you consider good. If enough people agree with you, the power of your argument grows.

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