Athiests - What motivates you to choose "right" over "wrong"?

The reaction to an action. I don't believe in God, but i have studied about him, the belief... the whole package is compulsary in english schools. So i've learnt the ten commandments etc. i don't believe in God but i believe in the morality of some religious teachings. Basically because of their social effects... so it's based on cause and effect. If i steal i rob someone of their dignity, their selfworth and their trust. If i kill i rob someone of their life, i destroy a future, i steal from a family. If i commit adultery im untrue to myself and to others, intentionally causing pain. If i hit someone out of anger i do something tht i hated my dad doing to me, i cause someone pain. If im racist or sexist etc then i degrade someone, intentionally robbing them of their self worth, their right as a human being, and their right to respect no matter who they are. If i do any of these things i wouldn't have a clear conscience, i quite literally wouldn't forgive myself. I choose something i find to be right over wrong because it will bring about the opposite. Not because God told me to do so, or if i pick right i go to heaven. I do it, like i believe everyone should, simply because that's what humanity needs. The more you kill the more damage you do, to yourself and others... so more simply... what's the point?

That is a good question. I never thought about it because my religion that I grew up with gave me the rules. Maybe government rules? I am interested in hearing, too.

Logic, plain and simple logic. I am an Agnostic (which people say is close to Atheist) and I believe in logic. I know that if I kill someone, I will be punished for it. If I steal, I will go to jail. If I do things that I should not do, then I will suffer some kind of consequences. My boyfriend was raised with little to know religion at all and he knew all of this. It doesn't take genius to figure out right from wrong. We all have it in us to know what it is. We don't need a book or rules to tell us. Think of the Mesopotamians, Native Americans, Celtics, Pagans, and Jews. The first people on the planet. They did not have books or rules at first to tell them right from wrong, they just knew. If I don't get along with my kind, if I don't mate, if I don't provide, if I don't do things that I should do then I will not survive. We learn survival skills at a very early age. We learn mostly through doing and by trial and error. We just know right from wrong.

I'm agnostic, so I don't really follow a religion. I've never even read the bible (nor do I have any desire to). My morals are based on the lessons/responsibilities I was taught growing up. I don't believe someone needs to have religion in their life to be a good person. Nor should you have to read a book to know what's wrong or right. Most of it is just common sense. If there is going to be punishment/consequence for your actions, then it is safe to assume that what you are doing is wrong. If someone else is going to be hurt by your actions, then you know what you're doing is wrong. Everyone makes mistakes/bad judgments, that's what growing up and learning is all about. Once you've become an adult, you should be able to differentiate the difference between right and wrong.

Forgive me for responding. I do believe in G-d but He isn't the reason I choose anything, right or wrong. I do choose what feels good to me.Most of the time it is " right" but being wrong feels appropriate at times.

The thing is... and I'm being completely, 100% honest about what I believe here. Try not to take it personally and feel free to disagree. If there wasn't a God, and there is, our morals would evolve around survival of the fittest like any other animal. I mean, think about it. Humans are the only species on earth that are a detriment to their own evolution. The reason why atheists have morals is because they are created in God's image, and have inherited their morals from God.

I follow my conscious, when I am not doing right I know I get that guilt feeling, and I then turn around and do it right.

For me it all comes from conditioning I received as a child. There was a lot of hypocrisy though ...from my parents and the nuns who taught me. I had religion and "goodness" literally pounded into me by both parents and nuns but the bible told a completely different story. My father was a thief and both my parents lied through their teeth and they were not loving parents, yet I was supposed to be a good person and obey the commandments and my parents???? I was stunned to realise the last several years that I don't believe in God. I just don't feel my faith. I know there is something for me to believe in I just haven't found it yet. As for right over wrong...don't take things that don't belong to you, be honest, a proper days work for a proper days pay and treat others as you wish to be treated. Also, look after animals that need your help because they cannot take care of themselves.

okay. first I am not a atheist, but my Gods don't keep score. that's not what they're about. so there will be neither eternal reward for good deeds or eternal punishment for bad, much as some peoples terrible acts make me wish there were. but my take is, what makes us choose right over wrong is instinct. we instinctively, as animals, recoil from acts that will damage our society, and instinctively feel good about acts that benefit our species. society is evolutionary good sense. by having an extended social structure, we enhance our chances of survival. lets look at vampire bats. (first off, ahhh, aren't they cute) second. the colony leaves the roost at dusk to feed. some time later, they return. one unlucky bat, who has been unable to find food, will ask others to regurgitate some of their meal for them. lets say that the bat they ask refuses. the hungry bat moves on to other friends, and is fed. the next time that the refusing bat goes hungry, the whole colony will refuse them food. so why do the bats do this? where do they get their sense of right and wrong? because I'm pretty sure they've not read the bible. but in day to day life, what it boils down to is, for whatever reason. I do good things, because doing bad things is immoral, and is something that I know deep down is wrong. whatever my boilogical wiring that causes that is based on, I know right from wrong, and do not want to do wrong. I do good things because I am a good person. not because I fear my Gods retaliations.

I know you were addressing this 'missive' to atheists, and I am no atheist, but I do not belong to any religion. I view the concept of 'God' from a similar perspective that a cell in your big toe would view the body it serves... there is no way it would be able to comprehend the entirety of the whole, nor would it necessarily be interested in doing that, in fact, moving it's attention (if it even could) to the whole would only serve to distract it from it's purpose. It just goes along happily doing the job it was born to do. Nor do I believe there are any absolutes in this world... or any other world for that matter. There are just not a bunch of rights and wrongs all writ down in a big book in the sky. Everything is relative to your intention. If you intended a trip to Canada from, say Texas, and you headed off in a southerly direction then obviously you are headed in the 'wrong' direction. Going south is not inherently 'wrong', it just does not serve the specified purpose. Morality is made out to be such a good thing, but what is so good about a bunch of people who are not in touch with their own guidance and need a book full of rules to follow in order to live happily ever after??? And a bunch of rules made up by someone else that does not necessarily hold the same intentions as any given individual in the group attempting to abide by those rules!! I think the concept of a God who is separated from ourselves, who sits up in the sky on a big throne, demanding that we behave in a certain way and judging our every thought and action - with the threat of eternal damnation and suffering if we don't obey - is more of a detriment to our purpose for being here than it is helpful. It is so incredibly ridiculous to look to the written words of ancient men for guidance in our modern lives when we have a built in guidance system of our own, designed specifically for our individual needs, and delivered to us from the aspect of ourselves that IS God.

I believe in a general moral code of right and wrong, and also a situational form of right and wrong - meaning I believe that individually there are things that may be right and wrong for one person that isn't for another person. I stand by this. I really really really HATE it when one person projects THEIR ideas of right and wrong on somebody else. That other person is a completely different person with a different lifestyle, different life experiences, a different personality, different needs and wants. This isn't to say it's okay for either person to attack the other and prevent them from living the life THEY want either. For instance, you have one person against abortion and one person who feels it is their only choice. My thought is the person who is against it just DOESN'T do it, and the person who feels it is their only choice can look at their options and then make the right decision for themselves, no matter what it is. I feel neither of them should have to explain themselves to the other, interfere with the other, or otherwise have anything to say to each other about their personal choices. What is 'right' to each of them is clearly different to each of them. I do not have a problem with this. We are not robots and nobody should impede a legal choice that exists for another person just because their personal reasons forbid THEM to. Somebody doesn't have the right to stop me from doing what is right for me, neither would I stop someone else from doing what is right for them, even if I do not AGREE with their choice. How does it help ME to harrass them? It doesn't. In fact harrassing somebody and preventing them from fulfillment in their own life SHOULD go against any normal person's moral code - do not harm others! Interfering unneccessarily with others would be considered harm. This said - I do not feel that morals or morality is synonomous with 'religion' or 'God'. Religion and God do advocate morals and morality, but morals and morality are things that exist independently and regardless of any religion or set of rules that any human came up with. I think most people DO have a sense of right and wrong, and if these senses were encouraged via people making sure they used those senses on their own (conscience, not fear), people would be much more respectful, tactful, decent, and kind with each other rather than judgemental and caught up with religion and sin and laws and what this or that person SAID was right or wrong.

I'm sorry a few posters read something into your discussion that wasn't there. I understand fully what you were asking and that you weren't accusing anyone of anything or saying there was anything wrong with anyone's belief. For me personally, as more or an agnostic than anything else, I think knowing basic right from wrong is instinctual. Most of us have a moral compass that tells us not to kill and basic 'big' things like that. Those of us without it are the psychopaths and sociopaths. I think from there our morals and ethics are fine tuned through things learned from our parents, people we interact with and are influenced by and through many different life lessons. Of course these can include teachings from the bible for some. Everyone gets inspiration and guidance from different places, and there's nothing wrong with that. And there's definitely nothing wrong with asking people where they get theirs.

well lets just say if there is a person who needs our help we will help him cause we know its the right thing to do. we live my morals and ethics. if we do something bad we know we have to live with it for the rest of our lives and that my friend is a true hell. having to live with your known mistakes for your whole life.

I think every human being distinguishes right from wrong by instintct. How a person behaves also has to do with their psycology and social skills in most cases. But I think the majority of human beings strives towards the good. Who would not?

I don't need to believe in god to have morals. I know right from wrong. Knowing right from wrong has nothing to do with god or the bible. Nothing. Knowing the difference between right and wrong has to do with common sense.

Proverbs 20:27 ( New American Standard Bible ) The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being. When God made man, He gave man conscience.

Just because someone's an Athiest/Agnostic doesn't mean they aren't good people. I'm non religious, but I still know the difference between right & wrong. The number of non believers is growing, finally. Even the president acknowledges this. Not everything can be put in a box with a label. It would be nice if everyone could get out of the "dark age" state of mind.

Sometime there's deviated between truth of person and truth of public, right by ego and right by universal. Many conflict have been happened developing meaning of "right" word more universal. From here we need to learn much about attentional ourself. So that by our awareness we can decide to do or not to do

I tend to believe that everyone, except the most mentally disturbed, have an internal sense of right and wrong, regardless of religion. If you are not a religious person, such as an atheist or agnostic, the only thing that can motivate your choices of right or wrong is your own personal instincts and moral beliefs. You don't steal, because you'll feel guilty. You won't physically hurt someone because you'll feel bad. If you don't RELY on religious belief, personal morality will drive your choices.

i think right and wrong is not much different