Is keeping one's beliefs to oneself a viable option?

I'd say the most obvious one is: if me killing someone prevented that person from killing ten people, that would be a rational reason (assuming we believe survival is a valid goal).

 

I'd say the most obvious one is: if me killing someone prevented that person from killing ten people, that would be a rational reason (assuming we believe survival is a valid goal).

 

It is not necessary to kill someone to prevent that someone from killing ten other people.
If the purpose was survival of the ten, then permanently isolating one from the rest would suffice.

But if you were stranded on an empty island without anything whatsoever to eat (assuming there weren't a single fish to be caught in waters as well), and if there was only other human being on the same island, then the only way you could prolong your existence would be to kill and eat that other person.

 

And if that's not actually possible?

In that situation, I'm not sure if it would actually be worth it (so they'd probably eat me) because once you've eated them, you're still fucked.

 

Actually, you do what is possible to achieve a goal.

If the goal is to prevent killings then , as I wrote, it is not necessary to kill to prevent a killing. Of course if you have raging madman with the gun in his hand, shooting all over the place and trying to kill those around, then there may be necessity to kill him to stop the rampage. Although even in such case you could simply shoot with immobilizing non-lethal bullets, constrain such individual and take to the nearest mental ward to be locked up forewer.

But if goal is killing, then it's a whole different subject. Usually those who say it's necessary to kill (when it obviously isn't) really like killing just for the fun of it , but don't have a courage to admit so. Hence all excuses.

And do you have experience of being in similar situation to speak of ?

 

When it comes to bad behavior, what about the cultural and institutional settings that people bind them selves into. We all know how badly church's', states and corporations or fascist movements for that matter can behave.

 

how many unborn fetus's do you think ask to be born in America, or Australia.

how many of those fetus's now as men and women, asked for the conditioning required to accept a fascist movement, or asked for the conditioning required to accept the conditioning.

how many people actually condone plutocracy past unregistered interest.

people do not bind themselves to institutions, we are assimilated.

 

Don t underestimate the value of agency and strategic conduct by both individuals and institutions. Both will commonly seek to alter the pre existing cultural and material environment in there favor.Particularly in the modern ideological world were life is always more than just about simple survival but more about getting ahead.

 

im not sure i understand

can you give an example or re-write what you mean

 

I think it's absolutely possible. I'm atheist, my husband is christian. We are able to live together because we both keep our mouths shut about religion.

 

I think it is possible to steer clear of it all together. I hung out the other night with these two guys from work and we got high and hit a bar and while they were talking and ripping different religions apart i just sat there quiet. Finally the one dude asks if im offended by anything they have said. I just laughed and said " im high and im getting drunk Im catholic but i aint offended what you believe or dont believe." I couldnt care less weather they believed in god or not i was just there to chill. for the rest of the night i watched as this one dude tried to figure out where he stood in the whole religion thing and the other tried to justify to me how he came to be an athiest... And the whole time i was like ,,, hey what you do is cool and what I do is my thing,,, Im high mo fo LOL

 

I enjoyed jamesrock's story, and I agree.

I believe that as long as humans have an altruistic view on the world than all will be ok. I have no problem with athiest although i am not one. Because many atheist actually care a lot about other people and thats actually the reason they are atheist in my opinion. They look at religion and spirituallity as detrimental to mankind. And i can respect that. Although i disagree.

I believe its ego.

 

ego as in, "I am doing something in the name of religion for myself"?