Godless morality defined

In yet another dissection of the stupid old “atheists don’t believe in a higher power, therefore they’re amoral wretches out to rape a goat” canard, PZ Myers sums up the nature of morality in a single sweet paragraph:

I've chosen my particular lifestyle, not because I'm supposed to do what I do or because I'm obeying orders from on high, but because it makes me feel good now. My biological needs are met, I'm entertained and stimulated, and I see the people I care about being likewise fulfilled. I want to see my views propagated into the next generation because they work well for me, and I have an emotional attachment to my children and other human beings, and want to see them given the same (and better!) opportunities that I've had. And of course, the reason I have those feelings for other people is that I'm the product of many generations of successful procreators who have also been well-integrated into their culture. I do what I do not because I should or because I'm told to, but because it works, in the sense of producing a stable and productive line of human beings.

Exactly. The lack of a higher power and absolute morality is completely irrelevant to our own moral righteousness and beliefs. Lack of moral guidelines written in stone does not lead one to suddenly becoming randomly violent wretches; it means you define what you feel is right or wrong based upon your worldview and beliefs. Everyone does this, consciously or not, even if they believe in absolute, God-given morality.

If only you could staple this to the foreheads of cranks everywhere … (Though, wouldn’t that be amoral?)