"Jyoshu pretty much answered for me so I wo n't go back but I will say that your morality is formed based on arbitrary things as well . Whether you believe in a god or make yourself god you still are making arbitrary rules for which you develop a morality . The idea that you do n't want to suffer and therefore came up with this morality is abritrary as everything we have stated . Why was n't the conclusion `` I dont ' want to suffer so be stronger than everyone else `` or `` I do n't want to suffer so do n't associate with anyone else `` . Or maybe the conslusion could be to believe in a religion . Either way , you are going to have to believe in something and that forms the basis for a morality ."
"My stance on morality is based on the following observations : 1 . '' I `` for me means my mental self , with my physical self just tagging along . 2 . I do not wish to suffer or to have those I care about suffer . 3 . I feel empathy toward others and often feel sorry for the suffering of others . Those are observations , not proclamations . The way I choose a moral code to avoid the problem of suffering is to essentially make a theoretical deal with others to have a mutual moral code that we will all treat each other as we ourselves would be treated - in this way , all of us can win out and I solve my problem of points 2 and 3 . Perhaps there are other better ways of finding a solution for societies to avoid suffering , but I have n't heard of one . I did not choose this solution arbitrarily . I chose it since it makes sense and should theoretically work and since many , if not most people , at least make some effort at using that moral code anyway so this moral code is at least partially universally adopted . It is the best moral option I have ever heard to address my concern about suffering . What is arbitrary about the reasoning I presented above ? What unsupported proclamations do you claim that I have made ? Either way , are you proposing that all moral systems are equally arbitrary and therefore equally valid ? In your scenario , someone could come up with an arbitrary proclamation `` black people should be slaves to white people `` and build a morality based on that . My moral approach questions that proclamation as well and thus avoids un-necessary human suffering ."
"Whether you believe in a god or make yourself god you still are making arbitrary rules for which you develop a morality ."
"for me means my mental self , with my physical self just tagging along . 2 . I do not wish to suffer or to have those I care about suffer . 3 . I feel empathy toward others and often feel sorry for the suffering of others ."