Self-Honesty
Kindness
Courage
can be used as a basis for morality.
This can only work, of course, because the words are given quite specific definitions. Kindness is regarded as an instinct that has given our species an evolutionary advantage and which different people exhibit to differing degrees. It also has a spread dimension - many people are fiercely protective of their families while showing total disregard for most of humanity. Courage is overcoming our fears and does not exist in the absence of fear. Self-Honesty or "not lying to yourself" is the missing link that allows the three axioms to be mutually reinforcing. Combined with Courage, it also makes the Triax distinctively secular. When people claim that there is a natural morality that we can all agree upon, they are usually restricting themselves to things that could be derived from a requirement for kindness which would suggest that murder and stealing are bad. The second rule of the Triax covers all these but the three rules working together suggest, for example:
The Triax came out of a search for a set of three axioms from which all morality could be deduced. It is better thought of as three axes along which all solutions to moral problems should be measured. Much more explanation of the Triax can be found in Philip Veasey's book, The Backslider's Guide to Success . An adapted extract containing most of what it says about the Triax is offered here. |