Let us now consider some gems from an article on the ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society website written by Dave who writes:
Some atheists do believe in ethical absolutes, some don’t. My answer is a bit more complicated — I don’t believe that there are any axiological claims which are absolutely true, except within the context of one person’s opinion.
That is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so are ethics. So, why is Adolf Hitler wrong? Because he murdered millions, and his only justification, even if it were valid, was based on things which he should have known were factually wrong. Why is it wrong to do that? Because I said so. Unless you actually disagree with me — unless you want to say that Adolf Hitler was right — I’m not sure I have more to say.
Well, one thing is certain, he has nothing more to say. As far as atheism goes, this is just about the very best explanation he could give—which is not saying much, as you can see. He is also seconding Richard Dawkins who stated, “What’s to prevent us from saying Adolf Hitler wasn’t right? I mean, that is a genuinely difficult question” (see Richard Dawkins: The Atheist Evangelist), the term speak of yourself readily comes to mind.
Some atheists believe in ethical absolutes, some don’t but that is like saying that some mathematicians believe that 2+2=4 and some do don’t. What they believe is irrelevant. In a Godless universe there are no ethical absolutes regardless what individual atheists prefer to believe. In nature only survival matter, nothing more. We can survive by performing actions which we prefer to refer to as ethical or by conquering, oppressing and mass murdering, it matter not.
Now, what the atheist said is not true anyhow. Why not? Because, by his very own definition, there are no axiological claims which are absolutely true, except within the context of one person’s opinion. Thus, since we are considering his claims from outside of his opinion, we can determine that his statements are not absolutely true. In fact, claims which are made within the context of one person’s opinion are not absolutely true as, by definition, truth is absolute or else it is not truth.
Absolute means that something is that which it is regardless of our preference or opinion. Truth is true whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, whether we would prefer it be different or not and whether we know about it or not.
This true for me but not for you concept fails on various levels such as that there is something that you may believe is true but may not be true. Therefore, it is not your truth or true for you but merely something that you think is true.
Now, consider his reasons for first declaring that there are no actual absolute truths, then declaring that ethics are in the eye of the beholder, but then declaring that Adolf Hitler was wrong: 1) Because he murdered millions and 2) because his only justification, even if it were valid, was based on things which he should have known were factually wrong.
Let us deal with 2) first. The claim is that Adolf Hitler was wrong because he should have known were factually wrong. But Dave just finished affirming that Those who see a tiger when there isn’t one are paranoid, but survive to reproduce. Thus, this is applicable to Adolf Hitler: he concocted justifications for his actions when they were not valid and this was supposed to help him and the Aryan Germans survive to reproduce. Thus, it is perfectly valid according to Dave’s atheistic evolution. Moreover, the logical conclusion of Dave’s position is that Adolf Hitler was not factually wrong, in fact, Adolf Hitler was 100% correct. What Adolf Hitler believed was the absolutely truth, within the context of Adolf Hitler’s opinion.
Now, to 1), since in his own context what Adolf Hitler believed was the absolute truth, ethics arein the eye of the beholder and he sought to survive as the fittest then there was nothing wrong with his murdering millions (Adolf Hitler did actually believe that he was ridding the world of the less fit, the less evolved—see Adolf Hitler’s and Nazism’s Darwinism and Use, Abuse and Misuse of Darwin).
For more info on Adolf Hitler, Nazism, etc., see:
About.com, Austin Cline, Adolf Hitler and the Continued Promulgation of Nazi Propaganda
Adolf Hitler Was a Christian! Was Adolf Hitler a Christian?
Adolf Hitler’s Birthday Present – Joe Keysor, “Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible”
Adolf Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress