If some actions or ideas are utterly devoid of any intrinsic "rightness" or "wrongness," wouldn't it follow, then, that genocide is every bit as legitimate as the notion that we should treat people with kindness? Understand, Steve, I'm NOT suggesting you approve of genocide or the Holocaust, nor am I suggesting most atheists believe this. I am simply asking about the implications of what you believe.
This arguments assume some independent standard of "legitimate" by which things can be judged. But, there is just us. I feel intensely that genocide is wrong. I have spoken to others I respect and they have confirmed my view. So I act on that, and condemn genocide. What else can I do? I gain nothing by telling someone who disagrees with me that there is an absolute standard of right and wrong and that they are found to be "wrong" by that standard, as they simply won't believe me. They will say that they know what the standard is, and they are right.
All we can do is to build up an idea of what is right and wrong from our consciences and from discussion, and hope. My view is that is what everyone does, no matter what their beliefs.
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