Telling Right from Wrong Without the Help of God

How do you tell right from wrong? If you are a religious person, you probably rely at least in part upon the traditions and teachings of your faith. But what if you do not believe in God, or if you believe that no human being or institution can speak for God? How does an atheist or an agnostic make moral choices? In this book Wilson Huhn shows how to construct and how to apply a system of telling right from wrong that does not depend upon belief in God.

This is a book that neither condemns nor ridicules religion. Instead, Huhn shows how atheists and agnostics can integrate a number of elements, including religious teaching, secular philosophy, cognitive psychology, and common sense as components of their moral decisionmaking. At several points Huhn critiques the sufficiency of religious teaching, and he contrasts "reality-based" with "faith-based" thinking in a number of contexts. The principal point of this book, however, is to demonstrate all of the different considerations that people should take into account in telling right from wrong.

Writing in simple, straightforward prose, this book is both profound and clear. Part I of the book shows how to construct a moral system, and Part II shows how to apply it to a number of difficult personal and social problems. Whether you are a religious person or an atheist, this book will challenge you to answer the question, "How do I tell right from wrong?"