For those of you the beleive mans purpose in life is his own happiness

[ski]

How do you justify conscience? How do you justify a feeling of indebtedness to people that have helped you?

Particularity if there no reason you will need these people again to further your own happiness?


Examples would be

1. Having the opportunity to steal $10,000 if you were 100% certain you would not get caught (conscience).

2. Taking care of a dying person that has helped you significantly in life even though you have other things you would rather do something else.

For someone who believes furthering ones own happiness is the primary philosophical value the only possible reason I would think of to act "unselfishly" in these cases would be fear of reputation damage and thus having less opportunities to further one's own happiness later?

Any comments?

[Bill Haywood]

Compassion, a sense of fairness, reciprocity, affection -- these things have been pretty conclusively shown to be as hardwired into our biology as aggression.

We help a dieing loved one because we are programed to care. While the care mechanism arose purely for survival, once it is established and operating in real time, it does not distinguish between someone with one day to live who cannot help you, and someone with one month to live who still might.

So a philosophical justification for conscience is irrelevant -- intellectual musings are not the source of these behaviors, though they can modify them.

[chezlaw]

We care about other people to some extent so their happiness is a component in our happiness.

chez

[Subfallen]

[ QUOTE ]
So a philosophical justification for conscience is irrelevant -- intellectual musings are not the source of these behaviors, though they can modify them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, and this will be painfully obvious to anyone who spends even a second of reflection on his own life and decisions. It is stunning how badly theists tend to over-correlate between abstract beliefs and actual behavior.

[RoundGuy]

1. Making someone else unhappy would not make me happy.
2. Taking care of this person would make me happy.

I don't get your point.

[HP]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So a philosophical justification for conscience is irrelevant -- intellectual musings are not the source of these behaviors, though they can modify them.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, and this will be painfully obvious to anyone who spends even a second of reflection on his own life and decisions. It is stunning how badly theists tend to over-correlate between abstract beliefs and actual behavior.

[/ QUOTE ]

^^ I'm with these guys