Grounding of Morality

I hadn't heard of Shelly Kagan before but this is interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiJnCQuPiuo&feature=related

Lane uses a definition of god here that makes it the basis for moral values by describing it with moral values.  It seems like in this case we could then remove the god and leave moral values as the basis for moral values.  I am not saying that I think this is sound, just that by the reasons he is using I can see no real objection to doing so.

The real question that Lane seems to ask is; How if they not universal can we say rights and ethics and morality truly and objectively exist?  I must recycle my previous answer that I think we tend towards emergence.  Replace ethics with consciousness or oxygen based metabolism and you should see the point I am trying to make.  It may simply be a part of our nature.  Conversely it may be a construct that could have developed differently under different circumstances.  We then have to wonder if the circumstance is unique to humans, unique to certain types of consciousness, or unique to conscious beings of any kind.

Some of my own ideas from prior to watching this debate

http://newsoldsandopinions.blogspot.com/2012/02/objective-values.html

http://newsoldsandopinions.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-is-basis-for-rights.html

http://newsoldsandopinions.blogspot.com/2012/02/pragmatic-empiricism.html

http://newsoldsandopinions.blogspot.com/2012/02/re-arguments-for-existance-of-god.html

 from Game Theory

http://thisorthat.com/blog/why-the-joker-and-not-batman-is-the-savior-of-us-all