Quote from: watmm on February 18, 2012, 06:49 pmQuote from: pine on February 18, 2012, 03:39 pmThe only 'karma' that exists, is imposed by DNA tests, fingerprints, witnesses and the CCTV camera. The truth is that the human conscience is the little voice in your brain telling you somebody else is looking.Maybe for most, but there are many athiests that will still refuse to do something they think is wrong even when noone is looking.You left out the end bit about God:QuoteSay only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.Intentional?Whether that is a rational act depends on the situation. e.g. although stealing candy from babies could be done out of self interest, we don't often do it because of the repercussions in the event of getting caught. That is, the risk/reward ratio is heavily skewed towards not doing this act. You can never know for sure 'nobody is looking', which is why the conscience is a useful evolutionary adaption for warning of danger when your individual self interest conflicts with the collective and hence could threaten your survival.Obviously people don't usually rationalize this in their brains, it's done at a lower more primitive level, mostly in the subconscious. It's expensive to continually think things through, which is why people follow higher level procedures some folk call 'morals' or 'principals'.Re: Leaving out the bit about God, yes I did so deliberately. It seemed superfluous to the moral of the story, which applies whether or not you believe in higher powers.