[jwalsh07]

...said he acknowledges it as universal. He acknowledges it as universal because it seems to be so universal. It appears in almost every culture, every religion, and even in other species. Compassion, cooperation, and sympathy are quite universal and immediately lead to the golden rule.

So he ackonwledges that morality exits. Wonderful.

Now I ask you. If the rape of a child makes the survival of the selfish gene more likely, is the rape of that child a moral act?

[UndauntedR]

If the rape of a child makes the survival of the selfish gene more likely, is the rape of that child a moral act?

Of course not. Why? Because we all agree that we would not wish to be raped. Since I don't want to be raped... and I assume others have the same experiences and thoughts like I do... I can't imagine forcing any person through an experience like that because I can imagine the experience myself. That's what compassion is - understating the emotional and cognitive state of another. If morals describe the good actions (those that alleviate or reduce the suffering of another) we take, then rape is amoral.