MIKAEL GOOD
|
ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
On the Knowledge of Good and Evil: The New Atheists, Secular Morality, and Moral Intuitions Mikael R. Good
W
hy be good without God? In an increasingly secularized society, moral philosophers want to figure out whether a system of morality can be established in the absence of the divine. Many conclude that we can and should be good without God; a few conclude that we must throw out morality along with God. Most seem unwilling to follow the latter path. To save morality, then, atheists must not only justify the moral obligations commonly derived from moral intuitions but also explain why everyone has moral intuitions to begin with. A group of contemporary scientists and philosophers informally known as the New Atheists seeks to accomplish both these tasks. They staunchly affirm moral realism and attempt to justify the presence of moral intuitions, which they often ground in evolutionary processes. They affirm that reality has moral features to which our moral intuitions point, but their naturalistic worldview does not satisfyingly explain why this is the case. Perhaps we do know about the nature of morality, even without belief in God—but why does reality have a moral structure? This paper will demonstrate that the moral realism of the New Atheists, albeit unjustified, is not surprising given the reality of divinely-instilled moral intuitions. This paper will examine several facets of the New Atheists’ moral philosophy, including moral realism, moral objectivism, and attempts to justify moral obligations apart from God and religion. A few contemporary objections will help explain why New Atheist morality has no convincing metaphysical explanaVol. III, No. 1
•
5
