Where Do Physical Ethics Come From?

 Originally Published on Amazon Kindle 2015

  Where do physical ethics come from?

 

  Perhaps, it’s all very simple. We didn’t want God for a king, so we blamed God for just about every problem of human society--the stubborn recurrence of suffering, of conflict, of evil. Some even smeared religion as the root of every ignorance, oppression and cruelty. Thus, it seemed clear. God had to go. Besides, we had many great thinkers who imagined for us wondrous scenarios of impartial justice, prosperity, tolerance and world peace all based on “god-free” models. Yes, God had to go…but how?

  Well, to put it bluntly, we did a childish thing. We made God disappear by covering our own eyes. Western civilization reduced a lofty, Created world down to a flat, physical world by simply rejecting our own ability to recognize absolute Truth. Therefore, since we can no longer know anything for sure, everything shrouds in mystery. There exist no God, no moral order, no spiritual responsibilities and, it seems, no restraint on human behavior. This, of course, makes for an exhilarating sense of liberation! There are no sexual boundaries, no eternal cares, no guilt or remorse. We are utterly free to do whatever we want. And, that’s the problem. We are also free to harm each other.

  In a purely physical world, the Strong could manipulate the Weak at every turn. Rape, theft and murder would multiply. Yes, the human animal, like all the other species, is concerned with manipulation and dominance. And why not? The world is a dangerously unequal place of predators and prey, lion kings, queen bees, top dogs and pecking orders. People are part of that mix. Therefore, it is a natural tendency for us to utilize our strength and compete for power over others—to simply take what we desire. Of course, such a civilization quickly turns thuggish and cruel. Thus, a secular city (a “god-free” city) seemingly leads to more suffering, conflict and cruelty—not less. Something is missing in all this. What is obviously missing is a set of widely acknowledged ethics that everyone obeys through free choice or, if need be, by coercion.

  Thus, the great, secular thinkers planned a towering city of noble ethics that would reach into the very heavens but, of course, stripped of all “myths” about God. It would be a system based on widely accepted forms of human logic, reason and science alone. During the great revolution, the French even went so far as to go about chopping off the heads of hundreds of priests and nuns while enthroning a prostitute as the “Goddess of Reason” in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. But, as clever as they imagined themselves, they missed one important thing. A physical world is driven by the physical. And, logic, reason and, yes, even the disciplines of natural science are not that deeply rooted in the physical order. Surely these are all secondary concerns compared to our primal drivers and, it has been argued, these are all based on spiritual assumptions too. Therefore, for all our dreams of a god-free utopia of human love and tolerance, the real, physical world of primal urges has rushed in to drive Western humanity like a dull-witted beast.

  Physical ethics

  What are those primal urges? What are the most basic, physical drivers? Well, in social terms, these would be Survival, Utility, Victim and Nature ethics. These have, for better or worse, replaced God in the West. This is the new source of physical “morality”. So let’s quickly touch on each one.

  Survival ethics—Certainly, the most primal urge of all is our will to survive. Survival is a powerful law written into the very tissue of our bodies. Therefore, it gives a primacy, a kind of ethical authority to every health and safety concern. In a world stripped of spiritual safety concerns—of eternal life and death—physical safety takes center stage.

  Thus, people can shelter in Survival ethics, not only rejecting all spiritually inspired ideals that might lead to conflicts like war, but also they might feel entirely justified in trying to bubble-wrap the world we live in. You’ve already noticed their worry about cigarettes, product labeling, drugs, bullying, childhood obesity, choking hazards, safety labels and soft playgrounds as they push for more car seats, safer cribs and less unhealthy diets. In a world so full of sharp edges and potential hazards, from a pin prick to international war, Survivalists are a busy crowd.

  Utility ethics—Now, at the core of every primal urge is a single driver: me getting what I want by utilizing any means necessary. The challenge is that the Earth is an unequal place where the Strong naturally dominate the Weak. Therefore, without some self-restraining, overarching morality that belief in God affords, the human animal is justified in taking any opportunity to impose power over others: to achieve what works, what is profitable, regardless of the impact on others.

  Adolph Hitler was an obvious picture of Utility. He spoke of a “master race” and brutally imposed solutions. Dickens character “Scrooge” is a milder example. But, of course, there are many more. There are men who seek only to use women. There are schoolyard bullies, corrupt politicians, pimps, crime bosses, thugs and predators of every stripe. In short, the manipulation of Utility ethics is quite common. It is merely the human animal seeking itself first.

  Victim ethics—One way for the Weak to get what they want, to defend themselves and to ensure survival, is to find a way to manipulate the Strong. However, in rejecting God, the secular city has rejected the subsequent moral imperative to care for our Weaker brothers and sisters under heaven. Rather, we are reduced to animals in an anxious struggle, where there is a critical need for the Weak to band together and equalize things with the Strong. This urgent need takes the form of an “ethic” or “right” based on victimhood. Central to Victim ethics is the notion of imposing equality. But, this is not an equality born of the humble, loving recognition of our common Father. No, it is not what the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was talking about. Rather, Victim ethics are born of a defensive need to control the Strong, to equalize the social environment out of fear.

  For example, large corporations like Exxon or Wal-Mart are an obvious threat to a person caught up in Victim ethics. Such industries are a potential source of manipulation for the little individual. These could monopolize the market place with cheap labor and price gouging profits. Therefore, Victims band together under the guise of government and seek to intentionally weaken these with regulation and higher taxation.

  Now, Victims might rally together for defense against just about any perceived big threat like those with big money—the rich. The problem is that there are a myriad of potential threats out there. And, Victim ethics ultimately divide a nation into agitated, special-interest groups. Thus, as the West replaces Judeo-Christian values with radical secularization, we tear apart into various racial groups, advocacy for the homeless, child advocacy guilds, feminist groups, thuggish worker unions, gay activists, disability activists, patient rights groups, animal rights groups, teenage acne support teams and a million other perceptions of weakness or inequality.

  However, all these balkanized groups usually have one goal in common: a big government (a sheltering herd) friendly to their cause. For it is only a really large and powerful government that could stand up to the Strong, that could even attempt to micro-manage the inequality of hundreds of millions of people. Therefore, modern Victim ethics aims to uplift the Weak and control the Strong but it, eventually, achieves the opposite result. It ultimately empowers a Strong government bureaucracy that subjugates the entire population: a government that makes everyone equally miserable by tearing down society to the level of the Weakest victim. Thus, a Victim society becomes the haunt of every caged
bird, with oppressive restraints on our most basic freedoms.

  Nature ethics—Now, in all of this you can easily see that a god-free world generates a singular choice: “Will I dominate or must I seek the shelter of the herd?” The natural world is filled with both answers. There are Strong creatures (like lions) of raw manipulation and Weak ones (like zebras) using subtle forms of self-preservation. Yet, most creatures are not dominant. Most creatures seek the equalizing power of the herd or some other deceptive cover to level the playing field. The same is true of Humans. Without God, without an overarching morality to guide a self-restrained people, the critical question remains: “Am I strong enough to get what I want directly or must I achieve it corporately through some equalizing technique?”

  Of course, such techniques are rooted in a primal fear, but what ethical basis could there be for imposing equality? Where is the moral absolute in all this? Well, from the perspective of the Weak, the theory of absolute, physical equality--Nature Ethics--would be a convenient ethic to impose. Nature Ethics are built on the belief that all things evolved