Posted by Stephen Charchuk on December 27, 1996 at 23:26:48:
In Reply to: Re: bugs and men posted by Tyler on December 27, 1996 at 15:23:02:
: I'm not at all convinced either of the notion that one requires a soul for morality. How do agnostics and atheists refrain from mass murder, as Amanda pointed out? I'd say that there are several reasons, religion notwithstanding. The first may arise from a sense of self-esteem; one cannot bring oneself to the depths of such an act.
True, there are as many mass murderers who are Christians as there are who are non-christian. Though, a good many wars have been fought in the name of one god image or another where many innocent men, women, and children have been killed. There is also the Crusades as well. Though, more Christans were murdered during that time by Crusaders than were Muslims.
:Another may be the fear of punishment, though it is clear that capital punishment is no more a deterrent than other forms). People want to
Capital punishment has never been a deterrent, all has ever done was get rid of some monsters.
:direct their destiny in their life, and committing such an act puts that control in the hands of another. The rather nebulous term "conscience" in my humble opinion, is perhaps the strongest deterrent. A sane and right-minded person surely feels the dread of hatred directed at you from others. Granted, Dahmer and Jerry Hessler (recently in my state of Ohio) did not have the capacity to feel shame, remorse and alienation. But those people are the most distant exceptions to this rule. If you ever were to carry out a murder, I think that most people here would be incapacitated with the terrible memory of the aftermath of the struggle; your victim's last moment, the lifeless body, not to mention the fear of being apprehended and judged before all (another problem for Biblical literalists).
I know that I would probably be filled with such dread that I would probably take my own life afterwards, if I were capable of murder in the first place..
: Psychologists will tell you that even the depraved do not indulge every impulse; desires are held in check by other desires that conflict. Someone's socially destructive behaviour may be repressed by a fear of God, but it is equally likely that the same result can come from a desire to please friends, be held with esteem in their community, or to be able to reflect upon oneself without disgust. BUT, if the person has none of these feelings or capabilities, then the abstract concepts of morality will not affect the individual.
True again, these people are called socio-paths, and they've always
been the real parasites on society.