Atheist philosopher J. L. Mackie accepted that, if objective moral truths existed, they would warrant a supernatural explanation.

American philosopher Michael Martin argues that it is not necessarily true that objective moral truths must entail the existence of God, suggesting that there could be alternative explanations: he argues that naturalism may be an acceptable explanation and, even if a supernatural explanation is necessary, it does not have to be God ( polytheism is a viable alternative ).

British philosopher John Locke argued that moral rules cannot be established from conscience because the differences in people's consciences would lead to contradictions.

It was famously attacked by the Catholic and Jansenist philosopher Pascal, during the formulary controversy against the Jesuits, in his Provincial Letters as the use of rhetorics to justify moral laxity, which became identified by the public with Jesuitism ; hence the everyday use of the term to mean complex and sophistic reasoning to justify moral laxity.

Prefect Orestes enjoyed the political backing of Hypatia, an astronomer, philosopher and mathematician who had considerable moral authority in the city of Alexandria, and who had extensive influence.

Ethical egoism, as a category of moral philosophies, was introduced by the philosopher Henry Sidgwick in his The Methods of Ethics, written in 1874.

* Jesse Prinz – American philosopher who specializes in emotion, moral psychology, aesthetics and consciousness

Objectivism is a system of philosophy created by philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand ( 1905 – 1982 ) that holds: reality exists independent of consciousness ; human beings gain knowledge rationally from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive and deductive logic ; the moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or rational self-interest.

During the reign of Nero from 54 to 68, the Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote a number of dialogues and letters on such moral themes as mercy and generosity.

The earlier, longer and more complete passage comes from a stoic philosopher called Antipater of Tarsus in a moral tract known as On Marriage ( c. 150 BC ).

Written in 1776 by Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher, The Wealth of Nations aims for efficient organization of work through Specialization of labor.

Italian anti-fascist philosopher Benedetto Croce ( 1925 ) concludes Machiavelli is simply a " realist " or " pragmatist " who accurately states that moral values in reality do not greatly affect the decisions that political leaders make.

German philosopher Ernst Cassirer ( 1946 ) held that Machiavelli simply adopts the stance of a political scientist — a Galileo of politics — in distinguishing between the " facts " of political life and the " values " of moral judgment.

" The Scottish moral philosopher Francis Hutcheson, as a student at Glasgow, " was attracted most by Cicero, for whom he always professed the greatest admiration.

He admired him as a patriot, valued his opinions as a moral philosopher, and there is little doubt that he looked upon Cicero's life, with his love of study and aristocratic country life, as a model for his own.

* Bernard Williams: A British moral philosopher whose posthumously published work on political philosophy ' In the Beginning was the Deed ' has been seen-along with the works of Raymond Geuss-as a key foundational work on Political Realism.

The moral or political response is given by the conservative philosopher Richard M. Weaver in Ideas Have Consequences, where he describes how the acceptance of " the fateful doctrine of nominalism " was " the crucial event in the history of Western culture ; from this flowed those acts which issue now in modern decadence ".

Peter Albert David Singer AC ( born 6 July 1946 ) is an Australian moral philosopher.

The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton is a representative of the intellectual wing of the Cornerstone group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead focus on conservative perspectives concerning political, social, cultural and moral issues.

Noah Porter, moral philosopher, was president from 1871 to 1886.

* Zhang Zai, Chinese Neo-Confucian moral philosopher and cosmologist ( b. 1020 )

The British moral philosopher John Stuart Mill also came to advocate a form of economic socialism within a liberal context.

Another criticism of the book, made by the philosopher Mary Midgley in her book Evolution as a Religion, is that it discusses philosophical and moral questions that go beyond the biological arguments that Dawkins makes.

It ignores the sordid financial aspects ( quite conveniently, too, for his audience, who could indulge in moral indignation without visible, or even conscious, discomfort, their money from the transaction having been put away long ago in a good antiseptic brokerage ).

Durkheim noted long ago that religion as `` a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things unites into one single moral community all those who adhere to them ''.

Mr. Skyros was not a man who thought very much about moral principles ; ;

`` This is a long picture and a controversial one, but basically it is a moral, enthralling and heartbreaking description of humans who have become unlinked from life as perhaps Rome has from her traditional political, cultural and religious glories ''.

Altruism is a motivation to provide something of value to a party who must be anyone but oneself, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual ( e. g., a god, a king ), or collective ( e. g., a government ).

The hostility to Agnes, it must be admitted, may be exaggerated by the chronicler William of Tyre, whom she prevented from becoming Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem decades later, as well as from William's continuators like Ernoul, who hints at a slight on her moral character: " car telle n ' est que roine doie iestre di si haute cite comme de Jherusalem " (" there should not be such a queen for so holy a city as Jerusalem ").

Despite this, Lewis argued, those who accept evolutionary naturalism still act as if objective moral truths exist, lead Lewis to reject it as impractical.

He continues his challenge, arguing that there is no reason to believe it is God who gives authority to moral laws – it could be given by the consent of humanity, for example.

Rather, the word blue was used in the 17th century as a disparaging reference to rigid moral codes and those who observed them, particularly in blue-stocking, a reference to Oliver Cromwell's supporters in the parliament of 1653.

Ian Kaplan of BearCave. com gave the book three stars out of five, saying that while he was " not entirely satisified " and felt that the " story tends to be shallow ", " Jeter does deal with the moral dilemma of the Blade Runners who hunt down beings that are virtually human in every way.

From these postulates stems the belief that God periodically reveals his will through divine messengers, whose purpose is to transform the character of humankind and develop, within those who respond, moral and spiritual qualities.

Eudaemonists generally reply that the universe is moral and that, in Socrates ' words, “ No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death ,” or, in Jesus ' words, “ But he who endures to the end will be saved .”

However, if this approach is naïvely adopted, then moral agents who, for example, recklessly fail to reflect on their situation, and act in a way that brings about terrible results, could be said to be acting in a morally justifiable way.

Jeremy Bentham, who is regarded as the founder of utilitarianism, argues that animals can experience pleasure and pain, thus demanding that ' non-human animals ' should be a serious object of moral concern.

Confucius had advocated a sensitivity to the realpolitik of the class relations in his time ; he did not propose that " might makes right ", but that a superior who had received the " Mandate of Heaven " ( see below ) should be obeyed because of his moral rectitude.

Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz (; July 1, 1780 – November 16, 1831 ) was a Prussian soldier and military theorist who stressed the moral ( in modern terms, " psychological ") and political aspects of war.

In golf, a caddy ( or caddie ) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives insightful advice and moral support.

He was also a sentimentalist who held that ethics are based on feelings rather than abstract moral principles.

However, by the end of the story, there is usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral is taught.

Ethical egoists such as Rand who readily acknowledge the ( conditional ) value of others to an individual, and who readily endorse empathy for others, have argued the exact reverse from Rachels, that it is altruism which discriminates: " If the sensation of eating a cake is a value, then why is it an immoral indulgence in your stomach, but a moral goal for you to achieve in the stomach of others?

Hayek's greatest intellectual debt was to Carl Menger, who pioneered an approach to social explanation similar to that developed in Britain by Bernard Mandeville and the Scottish moral philosophers in the Scottish Enlightenment.