What is it to be human?

@kellyjay said
You've said we all have different compasses, why?

How can you be asking me this now when I wrote maybe 200 posts about the answer to this very question THIS YEAR already, never mind in 2018, 2017, 2016 and so on?

@kellyjay said
You are not accurately giving my side of our past discussions, but the good thing is in this you can go back and time and pull up my posts. Other wise you just again avoiding reality and going after a person again with your opinion.

I am not the "nasty liar" you claim I am. I think you just said that because I'd cornered you with some of your feeble-minded self-contradictory writing and you were lashing out.

@kellyjay said
Synthesized by my moral compass? What in the material world could be writing code into my brain or give me something allowing me to judge even through experience? What in the world are you talking about here, in order to judge one thing good and another evil that requires a standard to look at all things, this has to be a part of the things you are looking at. Even to judge ...[text shortened]... e used to place both on, there needs to be something shows the truth. You have produced nothing yet!

All this stuff you have typed suggests you haven't been reading ~ or haven't understood ~ any of my posts on this topic for the last two and a half months.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
No.

Really we get morals from where? Because we give them to ourselves isn’t really nailing down the cause. Materialistic views of morals were generated how, through reasoning, because chemistry produces reasons with thought so often?

@kellyjay said
Really we get morals from where? Because we give them to ourselves isn’t really nailing down the cause. Materialistic views of morals were generated how, through reasoning, because chemistry produces reasons with thought so often?

Humans have succeeded as a species primarily due to their ability to cooperate. This has led to highly evolved intelligence which has enabled societies to develop moral codes that help safeguard this cooperation. (I won't kill you if you don't kill me. I won't steal your horse if you don't steal my horse etc). This, in turn, has developed into thoughts on morality and a moral compass/conscience.

Morals are homegrown within human beings. No deity required. (And I don't know why you keep going on about chemistry. Only you have referenced that in our communication).

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Humans have succeeded as a species primarily due to their ability to cooperate. This has led to highly evolved intelligence which has enabled societies to develop moral codes that help safeguard this cooperation. (I won't kill you if you don't kill me. I won't steal your horse if you don't steal my horse etc). This, in turn, has developed into thoughts on morality and ...[text shortened]... n't know why you keep going on about chemistry. Only you have referenced that in our communication).

You think our ability to reason, mixed with valuing our own lives, seeing advantages in using others gives us morals? What mixture of chemicals put all of that together?

As I pointed out to someone else a compass points to a true north, a moral compass would point to what, whatever I want when I want it? Do I need a moral compass for that, if what I want and good morals disagree what is making the judgment call on what the right thing to do is?

@kellyjay said
You think our ability to reason, mixed with valuing our own lives, seeing advantages in using others gives us morals? What mixture of chemicals put all of that together?

As I pointed out to someone else a compass points to a true north, a moral compass would point to what, whatever I want when I want it? Do I need a moral compass for that, if what I want and good morals disagree what is making the judgment call on what the right thing to do is?

Sorry kelly, but if you keep referring to chemicals I'm out of this conversation.

@kellyjay said
As I pointed out to someone else a compass points to a true north, a moral compass would point to what, whatever I want when I want it?

A moral compass is something an individual uses to navigate their way through life making decisions about how to interact with people.

If you want to call your principles and objectives "true north", that's your prerogative.

Your subjective sense of what is "true north" is derived from your environment, ideas that you have been exposed to, and things you have experienced. It's also derived from your unique personality and character. It is the product of how you relate and react to external pressures and expectations.

It is your prerogative to be as self-righteous as you want when talking about the 'conclusions' your moral compass has reached and the actions it guides you in taking.

We can use our moral compasses to help evaluate each other's beliefs, behaviour and actions.

@kellyjay said
Do I need a moral compass for that, if what I want and good morals disagree what is making the judgment call on what the right thing to do is?

A moral compass is what enables you to make judgment calls.

A moral compass is what enables you to decide what the right thing to do is.

What you do when you disagree with someone else's judgment calls and someone else's decisions is up to you.

You use your moral compass both to identify the disagreement and to decide what to do.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Sorry kelly, but if you keep referring to chemicals I'm out of this conversation.

Fine just tell me how this process started that we could go from life without morals to life with morals, or life without reason to life with reason using whatever you'd like. This is a very important question, because if we say, we make it up as we go, we really do destroy all real justification claiming something is right or wrong in all human interaction. Well its what you think so its right for you, not me, doesn't cut it!

Right now for example there is a game going on among some where they find someone defenseless start filming and beat the person to death and share the film with friends. A while back, it may still be going on, another game kids did they would walk down the street, and just sucker punch someone, hoping to knock them out with one blow. Without morals where all people have a value, value that goes beyond our singular likes and dislikes of others, why would those be called wrong? If human life isn't valued above anything else, why would that be wrong?

@fmf said
A moral compass is what enables you to make judgment calls.

A moral compass is what enables you to decide what the right thing to do is.

What you do when you disagree with someone else's judgment calls and someone else's decisions is up to you.

You use your moral compass both to identify the disagreement and to decide what to do.

A compass points to the thing it is supposed to point to. You assume there is such a thing as morals, why? What if someone said all the compass pointing in different directions simply means there isn't any real morals, so all the restraints have to come off do what you will without guilt? What world would spring from that mindset?

@kellyjay said
You assume there is such a thing as morals, why?

Why are you ignoring almost everything I post on this subject?

@kellyjay said
What if someone said all the compass pointing in different directions simply means there isn't any real morals, so all the restraints have to come off do what you will without guilt?

People's moral compasses are different. It's a fact of life.

@kellyjay said
A compass points to the thing it is supposed to point to. You assume there is such a thing as morals, why? What if someone said all the compass pointing in different directions simply means there isn't any real morals, so all the restraints have to come off do what you will without guilt? What world would spring from that mindset?

KellyJay: "A compass points to the thing it is supposed to point to. You assume there is such a thing as morals, why? What if someone said all the compass pointing in different directions simply means there isn't any real morals, so all the restraints have to come off do what you will without guilt? What world would spring from that mindset?"

You are free to campaign for people to adopt your morals. You are free to associate with people whose morals resembe yours. You are free to move to a community or a society where you see eye to eye with others. You are free to teach your children and those you are responsible for the morals you think people are supposed to have. You are free to send your children to schools that teach moral rules your moral compass tells you are correct. You are free to vote with your conscience. You are free to lobby for changes in the law as it pertains to what you see as "real morals". You are free to stand for office. etc. etc.

You use your moral compass for all this. You can use it to spread the word about moral compasses and "the thing it is supposed to point to". You use your moral compass to decide who it is you need to spread "the word" about "real morals" to.

@kellyjay said
Fine just tell me how this process started that we could go from life without morals to life with morals, or life without reason to life with reason using whatever you'd like. This is a very important question, because if we say, we make it up as we go, we really do destroy all real justification claiming something is right or wrong in all human interaction. Well its what yo ...[text shortened]... ould those be called wrong? If human life isn't valued above anything else, why would that be wrong?

An important question indeed, that I already answered:

'Humans have succeeded as a species primarily due to their ability to cooperate. This has led to highly evolved intelligence which has enabled societies to develop moral codes that help safeguard this cooperation...'

The process from a life without morals to a life with morals materialised/evolved from our success of survival by cooperating with each other. Initially, this was not done due to altruism but out of largely selfish motivations. (It was in our own interest to cooperate with our fellow humans). This cooperation, in turn, led to societies and civilizations where moral codes and intelligence developed and in which its citizens developed a moral framework and for want of a better word, a 'conscience.'