The truth, meaning accepting our best accordance of theory to observable reality, then acting on that? That means not just in physics but in ethics as well and any other area.
> The truth, meaning accepting our best accordance of theory to observable reality, then acting on that?
That sounds like satisfaction to me. You looked for the answer that made sense and satisfied your notions of reality. But its not like you have access to divine revelation or Truth. You are working on what you think is like based on your observations and throwing ideas that aren't in accordance with what you know away because they don't satisfy you as an explanation.
> That means not just in physics but in ethics as well and any other area.
Oh boy. This makes even less sense for ethics. There is no emperical basis for ethics. Its entirely around what people feel is "right". You can't get to even simple things like murder is wrong just by observing the universe.
> You looked for the answer that made sense and satisfied your notions of reality
I've no doubt you have as much experience as I have people who will reject things that are clearly true, or even arguably true, rejecting evidence, to maintain a position that doesn't stand up. So what I'm saying is, some people don't "accept our best accordance is… to observable reality…". I mean, it amazes me the number of people on HN who will take and hold a position regardless.
> There is no emperical basis for ethics
Do you think I'm unaware of this. But suppose you see a small child in a street crying because they're lost. Assuming we have an inner life, you can deduce the child is unhappy. What is the right thing to do in this circumstance, to help them or walk on by?(I'm assuming the circumstances are as they appear, this is not intended as a trick question).
Morality isn't physics but it's not something too complex to tackle, and the religious don't have a monopoly on ethics (I mention this because you said you are an atheist, like me, and we don't need a book to tell us how to do the right thing Edit: I have been asked online by a Christian what the basis of my ethics is if I'm not religious. Cheeky sod)
> But suppose you see a small child in a street crying because they're lost. Assuming we have an inner life, you can deduce the child is unhappy. What is the right thing to do in this circumstance, to help them or walk on by?
Right. However the part you can't deduce emperically is if its a good thing to reduce the suffering of the child.
Sounds simple enough because mainstream morality demands a specific answer. But consider the vegan version of this question - animals clearly are suffering in slaughterhouses, how can you justify just walking by? This is a lot less compelling to a lot of people and yet the argument seems pretty much identical to the child case in terms of pure logic.
All this is to say, i think at the very bottom it always comes down to: i believe what i believe because i believe it. Or to phrase it a certain way, i found an answer that satisfies me. I help the child because it gives me satisfication to reduce the amount of human suffering in the world.
The truth, meaning accepting our best accordance of theory to observable reality, then acting on that? That means not just in physics but in ethics as well and any other area.