Perhaps, DoOrDoNot, you could contribute some more substantial thoughts on the topic, in the same manner that Original Position has been doing. Perhaps I've missed some vital posts, but I don't even know what you think makes something moral, what makes something an "ought", whereas OP has revealed a great deal (or perhaps you just don't know?). Without reciprocity, it's all rather tedious. Similarly (from the earlier posts), what does it mean for something to "objectively matter", in contrast to OP's comments?
You say morality cannot exist without God (or an authority), but below you give two different ways for a "set of oughts" to exist, only one of which requires the authority. Care to clarify?
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Originally Posted by DoOrDoNot
Either there is a real set of oughts or there isn't. If there is, then it either exists empirically and is accessible by logic or it is instantiated by an authority. That subject might be God or something else. If there is no God or other authority which instantiates moral value, then morality is an illusion.
If morality is "accessible by logic", would would someone look for to find it?
If "instantiated by an authority", what kind of things would the authority need to know that mere humans do not?
btw, I pretty much agree with this:
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Originally Posted by DoOrDoNot
Personally I think the very fact the world is here is bizarre. The fact that there are conscious, self-aware beings upon it is even more bizarre
But only up to this:
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Originally Posted by DoOrDoNot
and materialism seems to be self-evidently false. I don't believe it's possible to get life from non-life, consciousness from non-consciousness, morality from amorality, and free will from pure determinism.
I'm rather curious to hear that while you reject those list of possibilities, you do seem to accept that you can get objective "oughts" from a subject who is an "authority" but not a subject who is a person:
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Originally Posted by DoOrDoNot
You can't unless you appeal to an objective set of 'oughts' or a higher subjective authority, that is correct.
I know that's not really a question, I'm really just curious to find out some of your positive beliefs on the topic.
PS Harris is a determinist.