You make a brave effort to link self-sacrifice with rationality and reason ...
but in the end it leaves me unconvinced. Even for the religious believer, self-sacrifice simply is not a rational act. If the believer sacrificed her life in a calculated effort to obtain favor from god, it would become a contrived act not worthy of reward. I think people who believe in god intuitively realize this; that actions motivated by self-aggrandizement would defeat their own purpose in the eyes of an all-knowing god. So I would not argue that I (believer) have any better reason than you (non-believer) to perform the ultimate act of altruism.
Where we approach consensus seems to lie in the metaphysical realm of "Higher Purpose" or "Higher Values," expressions used by you and/or X. These appear to be the origin of the instinct to do the right thing, which you explore as well as I. For me, a religious belief system such as Christianity may give these noble ideals some measure of form and substance, yet they do not provide a rationale for selfless acts, inasmuch as that rationale would be self-serving, and thus self-defeating in terms of expectation of eternal rewards. For you, you come to a hierarchy of values, wherein there are some things more important than your own life, such as the fate of country or humanity. You imply, I think, that how you have come to believe in that hierarchy is not as important as the fact that you have come to it.
I relate very much to your mention of the old movies. For our (more or less) generation, movies were a significant influence on the formation of our values. The John Wayne-type hero, unblemished, pure of heart, giving up his life time and again for his fellows or his country, was a powerful inspiration. There was nothing "religious" about it at all. It was courage, duty, honor, nobility ... and it touched something within us that said "this is right, this is what I want to be, this is what gives meaning to a life."
The only point I can see here is that both of us find something existing within us that is larger than our own existence. Whatever it is, and wherever it came from, I don't think it can be reached, or touched, or explained through logic or reason. Whether we call it an instinct, an urge, a feeling, a subliminal perception ... it seems to exist in all humans of normal mind.
Those of us curious enough to search for its meaning and origin come to divergent answers. Much, probably most, of humanity are drawn to religious explanations, and God enters the picture. God may be one or many, may be personalized or simply an unknown cosmic force. I don't see why it should seem irrational for many to explain one unknown by means of another unknown.
To use your expression .... metaphysics is damn hard to get your head around (sigh).
I don't know about you, but I personally don't think we are arguing here. If we are ... I have no desire to win (ggg) |
