The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

In What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life, Phil Zuckerman argues that morality does not come from God. Rather, it comes from us: our brains, our evolutionary past, our ongoing cultural development, our social experiences, and our ability to reason, reflect, and be sensitive to the suffering of others. By deconstructing religious arguments for God-based morality and guiding readers through the premises and promises of secular morality, Zuckerman argues that the major challenges facing the world today―from global warming and growing inequality to religious support for unethical political policies to gun violence and terrorism―are best approached from a nonreligious ethical framework. In short, we need to look to our fellow humans and within ourselves for moral progress and ethical action. Shermer and Zuckerman discus:

• what is morality and what does it mean to be good?
• the evolutionary origins of morality
• the “naturalistic fallacy,” or the “is-ought fallacy” and why it need not always apply
• how we’ve made moral progress over the centuries thanks to secular forces
• why religion is always behind the wave of moral progress (but takes credit for it later)
• the origin of good and evil
• how to solve crime, homelessness, and other social problems through science, reason, and secular forces, and
• the seven secular virtues.

Dr. Phil Zuckerman is the author of several books, including The Nonreligious, Living the Secular Life, Society without God, and his latest book, What it Means to be Moral. He is a professor of sociology at Pitzer College and the founding chair of the nation’s first secular studies program. He lives in Claremont, California, with his wife and three children.

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