This is the second in my series of evidence FOR the Creator. Morality is a deep, very involved topic including many related concepts. I will attempt to define the terms, analyze the source, and offer conclusions. Conscience, instinct, Law, sociopathy, and anthropomorphic projection all enter in to this basic Question:
Is morality a Real Thing, or is it a human construct?
..and, it's corollary,
Is universal, objective morality evidence for The Creator?
IF.. there is a Creator, one might expect a Standard.. an innate moral sense.. that transcends time, race, religious beliefs, culture, and region. At least 'Goddidit!', is a plausible explanation for the morality we observe in the human animal.
IF.. there is no God, and morality is only a human construct, we would not expect to see a common thread of absolute morality in the human experience. Morality would be arbitrary and local, mandated by the powerful, with only whimsy or expediency to drive them.
Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. ~Frederic Bastiat
The 'need', for human Law is a reflection, imo, of the REALITY of a universal moral code. We recognize, collectively, a moral consciousness, define it as 'conscience', and label those who violate it as criminals or sociopaths.
Definitions
Morality is an embedded sense, classically considered to be 'endowed' by a Creator, as in the American declaration of independence,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights
Merriam's: ..conformity to ideals of right human conduct
Morality is a 'self evident' standard that humans in every region, time, and culture have appealed to. It is equivalent to 'natural law', from reformation and Enlightenment philosophers. It is something internal, embedded, and universal in humanity.
I will use the dichotomy for origins that tickles many of the members of this forum:
Goddidit, or Nuthindidit!'
..because the ONLY source for morality to be a Real Thing, and not a contrived human construct for manipulation, is if it were embedded by the Creator, or some Agent with the Ability to put this sense in man.
In a godless universe, no morality like this is possible. It is a delusion or manipulation, to control people. There is only animal instinct, or declared Law, in a godless universe, with no absolutes to appeal to.
IF... there is a Creator/moral Embedder.. AND IF... this Creator/moral embedder embedded moral standards in humans.. THEN... that is the source of embedded moral standards.. a 'sense' of universal, absolute morality.
BUT..
IF.. there is no Creator/moral Embedder.. THEN... morality is a human construct. ..this 'sense' of universal, absolute morality is a delusion or manipulation of man.
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