Also involved in this total emphasis on man is the way we deal with each other. Scientific materialism puts us in the position of viewing everything totally in an immediate reward perspective. Decisions about abortion and euthanasia are just a small part of the picture. What one does with one's life is even a bigger part. This leads us to reason 3.
Scientific materialism negates any moral code that has meaning.
If man is the highest level of consciousness that exists, then the highest morality one can have is that morality that is conceived by his own mind. If his mind feels the universe is valueless as proponents of scientific materialism maintain, then man's role in the cosmos must also be valueless. This means that one's own personal pleasure is the only objective one can reasonably have in life. Morality with such a system of belief can only be selfish in nature. The moral standards one holds to will have to be standards that can be seen to benefit the individual in a clearly visible way.