Are there immutable moral principles that apply at all times and in all circumstances?
Some say there is no reality beyond the material, that human existence is but the result of chance evolution, and morality is simply another name for the tools humans use to get along or gain advantage over one another. I consider morality as beginning with the rise of consciousness. Then humankind was forced to recognize the consequences of behavior toward others as well as to self. Experience taught that life was to be protected and cultivated as opposed to destroying it. Self respect was recognized as an essential foundation for good living and citizenship and self respect in turn led to respect for the same in others. All these qualities led to the development of communal living and society wherein the same principles applied. This accumulation of consciousness led humankind to the inevitable question, who or what created all this and what does our existence mean? Over many millennia, progressive experience resulted in codes of law and morality. The Ten Commandments are an example.
