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mor·al Audio pronunciation of "moral" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (môrl, mr-)
adj.
1. Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character: moral scrutiny; a moral quandary.
2. Teaching or exhibiting goodness or correctness of character and behavior: a moral lesson.
3. Conforming to standards of what is right or just in behavior; virtuous: a moral life.
4. Arising from conscience or the sense of right and wrong: a moral obligation.
5. Having psychological rather than physical or tangible effects: a moral victory; moral support.
6. Based on strong likelihood or firm conviction, rather than on the actual evidence: a moral certainty.
n.
1. The lesson or principle contained in or taught by a fable, a story, or an event.
2. A concisely expressed precept or general truth; a maxim.
3. morals Rules or habits of conduct, especially of sexual conduct, with reference to standards of right and wrong: a person of loose morals; a decline in the public morals.
I see no reference to a higher power anywhere in here.
When I took philospohy back in college, one of the first things we discussed was ethics and morality. To take the Old Testament as an example, I think most resaonble people can see that God was morally wrong when he instructed the Israelites to kill everything breathing in Canan. The fact that we can say this means morality comes from something other than a higher authority.