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dmarchall491 t1_ivevobb wrote

Reply to comment by theartificialkid in Michael Shermer argues that science can determine many of our moral values. Morality is aimed at protecting certain human desires, like avoidance of harm (e.g. torture, slavery). Science helps us determine what these desires are and how to best achieve them. by Ma3Ke4Li3

> But clearly science has no way to dispute the claims of someone who says “it is inherently good to make others suffer”.

The crux there is that the claim is already non-scientific to begin with. "Good" or "bad" are meaningless terms without context. Good/bad for what and for whom? What might be bad for the slave, might be good for the owner.

You can very much do science on morality, but you can't do it in generic unspecific good or bad terms. That not only doesn't work, it completely overlooks that morality is group behavior, not some overarching absolute value system. What's good for some, is bad for others. And how people treat group members will be completely different to how they treat strangers.

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