Mission Statement

As organized religion lumbers into obsolescence, so too does collective belief in objective morality. Although organized religion poses many of its own problems, the deterioration of social moral consensus increasingly proves disastrous. I believe that moral relativism reduces to nihilism, and that nihilism cannot form the basis of a healthy and stable society because it is based upon the false premise that life is inherently meaningless. My goal is to promote a collective understanding of objective morality, independently of religious orthodoxy.

Proposal

I advance the following statements as self-evident axioms of objective morality:

1. Only Conscious Beings are Valuable
   Only conscious beings possess intrinsic value. All else is valued according to its effect on the experiences of conscious beings. Therefore, the welfare of conscious beings should be the sole target of moral consideration.

2. All Conscious Beings are Valuable
   Each conscious being’s value is intrinsic and cannot be forfeited or invalidated. There is no conscious being whose welfare should be excluded from moral consideration.

3. For every Will, there is a Corresponding Experience
   The universe experiences you just as you experience it. Your family, acquaintances, and even your enemies are part of the universe's consciousness of you.

4. Some Wills are Better than Others
   Just as you may not like some of the things the universe does to you, the universe may not like some of the things you do to it.

5. Love is Perfect Will
   From perfect will comes perfect experience.

Application

Drawing from the foundation laid by these statements, I envision a world in which social consensus on objective morality is based upon collective knowledge of love, and in which spiritual growth is understood to consist of deepening of one’s understanding and practice of love. My ideal world would harmonize the virtues of compassion and wisdom to achieve a system of accountability that would be robust, flexible, and not dependent upon vague hopes or fears of the afterlife.

If these statements strike you as true, I ask you to devote conscious effort to establishing an attitude of love towards all conscious beings, including those you may regard as ignorant, evil, foolish, or insignificant. I ask you to be your own judge, and identify where you may have acted upon flawed motivations such as fear, arrogance, hatred, greed, self-loathing, or ingratitude. I ask you to be patient with yourself, and not to allow the act of judgment to coincide with the emotion of hatred, whether judging yourself or others. I do not ask you to act unwisely, or to neglect your physical or emotional wellbeing.

Finally, I ask you to discard the fear that who you are is not enough.

I welcome you to discuss this text and related ideas online at reddit.com/r/loveisperfectwill. Thank you for reading.

Explanation of Terms

• Objective Morality: Objective morality refers to the idea that certain intentions are intrinsically immoral. Intrinsic, meaning that the nature of the intent and the fact of its immorality are co-occurrent, inseparable, and not dependent on external factors such as individual opinion or societal consensus.
• Moral Relativism: By this, I refer specifically to normative moral relativism, which is the view that morality is a social construct. This view holds that the morality of an intention depends on individual opinion or social consensus.
• Social Consensus: Social consensus refers to the collective beliefs of a particular society. The strength of social consensus depends on the average degree of agreement between individual beliefs.
• Nihilism: Nihilism is a rejection of the validity of absolute truth, value, or meaning in conscious experience. This includes the rejection of objective morality.
• Orthodoxy: An orthodoxy is a social structure in which challenges to social consensus are suppressed by social or legal force. Orthodoxy tends to create an atmosphere of fear and oppression where innovation and creativity are stifled.
• Axiom: An axiom is a statement that is accepted as true without proof, in order to form the basis for a system of deduction. Axioms are often self-evident. Interestingly, axioms need not be strictly true in order for the resulting logical system to be useful. For example, Euclidean geometry posits the existence of straight lines, which do not actually occur in nature. Despite this apparent oversight, Euclidean geometry forms the basis of modern architecture and engineering.
• Consciousness: Consciousness refers to the presence of any form of awareness. It may not automatically imply self-awareness, sentience, emotionality, or free will.
• Will: Will is the active, creative component of consciousness, contrasting the receptive, experiential component. In this sense, the word “intent” refers to the will of a sentient being.
• Love: By love, I refer to intentions which recognize the inherent value of all conscious beings. Love is reciprocated when two conscious beings treat the other's needs and desires as their own. Furthermore, mutual unconditional love is the best possible relationship between any two beings.

Practical Considerations

The practice of love has numerous practical benefits, some of which are listed below. Perhaps you have already noticed some of these in your life:

• Love promotes traits such as compassion, integrity, and responsibility. If you exude these qualities, your behavior will likely be noticed and appreciated by others. In turn, your relationships are more likely to flourish and you will attract people who exude similar qualities. You may end up creating a support network of people who will help you in times of need.

• Love leads to gratitude, which may help you to appreciate the beauty of the world around you and experience less anger and resentment.

• The practice of love may help you to take joy in the accomplishments of others, rather than being indifferent or envious.

• Love may help you to establish habits of self-discipline and long term thinking.

• Practicing gracious acceptance towards others may help you to view yourself and your own failings in a more patient and forgiving light.

• Love promotes traits which are naturally worthy of respect. As you recognize these positive traits within yourself, you will develop self-respect and self-confidence, avoiding anxiety and feelings of inferiority when interacting with others.

• You may experience an increased sense of purpose in your life. More than just a philosophical luxury, purpose provides the grit required to overcome painful or difficult circumstances.