May Socrates Cafe Meetup

Thanks to those who turned out for our last discussion, on the nature of God. I was fascinated by some of the unorthodox conceptions I heard of the divine!

Since questions about the origin of ethical truth kept arising during that discussion, we decided to make the origin of ethical truth the focus of our next discussion. The focus, in other words, will be: What do ethical truths -- truths about right and wrong, good and evil, virtue and vice -- depend on? Where do such truths come from? (Note that this is a philosophical question, distinct from the psychological or sociological or anthropological question of why people have the beliefs they do about ethics.)

A small sampling of historically popular answers include: (1) God wills right and wrong into existence; (2) ethical truth depends on cultural standards; (3) whether an action is right or wrong is a function of how well it promotes overall well-being compared to alternative actions; (4) behaving rightly is a matter of acting in accordance with human nature; and (5) behaving rightly is a function of properly respecting the moral rights of others.

Is one of these possibilities correct? Is some other answer correct?

Our weighty and relevant topic should make for interesting discussion. I hope to see lots of you there, old members and new!

Yours in Socrates,
Andy