While I won't discount the possibility of an absolute ethic/moral existing, nobody in the history of the world has ever been able to show one.

Ethics, as a set of rules, should not be regarded as absolute but as a collective creation that we continuously update as new insights arise. Sort of "Process Morality," similar to "Process Theology."

That which underlies our ethical thinking, however, is absolute. It is the all-unitive experience and feeling of utter oneness that we experience when we turn away from our conceptual world and experience pure being: reality as it really is, not as we think it is. This pure experience then serves as the foundation for our interpretations.

We must be careful, however, not to confuse the foundation with the interpretation. The foundation is experiential, the interpretation is conceptual. The foundation is absolute, the interpretation is relative: an arbitrary creation! But the interpretation is as important, or perhaps more so, than the underlying experience. The interpretation, however, should never be absolute but a creative process that employs new insights as they arise. Sort of a "process ethics," or "ethical process," which involves all of us collectively.

Arminius

Very well put.  I concur totally.

Shalom

Mate

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and love you neighor as you love you self. A very simple ethic which covers a lot of the bases.

In the The United Church Observer there is a column every month that has an ethical situation and two united church ministers will give their solution or insight as to what they would do in the situation. There are some very interesting problems and solutions.A lot of times things are not black or white and you have to decide your course of action from your heart.

Armenius, this is deep! Thanks! To me, your view means, the original mystical experience, and recording of it, is eternal, but our 'interpretation' of it changes, with each age.

   Was it Plato, who also talked of "the idea" of a chair for instance, and the physical example of a chair?

   Thanks again.

Witch, I didn't think there would be a time when I found myself agreeing with you, but this is one of those times. :)

Sounds fascinating. I must get a copy, but it's a 300 mile trip to the Thompson library.

Yes, lovebelize, that's excactly what I mean.

In the pure, unconceptualized experience, the universe, or God, offers ITself uninterpretted but absolutely true. We, individually and collcetively, create and continuously update the interpretations.