Baphomet: The Altered Narrative
I am quite happy with The Narrative of Baphomet, and will not be revising it. However, the later part of the narrative can be explained just as well in a different way. This new way of stating it, will now be the way the UAoS states it, going forward. It goes along very nicely with the Purpose And Core Values and The Baphomet Principle. With these things in place, no endorsements are required. If you go to The Narrative of Baphomet in The Satanic Narratives, you will notice a paragraph that starts the same as the first paragraph below. That is when you switch from the published Narrative of Baphomet to this.
This brings us to an understanding, where we can have certain moral truths. These truths can be expressed in a code of ethics. You can also express them with greater precision, by simply going over the fundamental concepts that are the pillars of modern secular ethics.
Arguably the most important thing is a pair of concepts that go together. These important ethical concepts are consent and bodily autonomy. Consent, permission, or willingness are subtly different ways of expressing desire and intention.
These concepts are critical in regard to a number of things, but happen to go well with bodily autonomy. One’s body and making decisions about that body are fundamental and prerequisite to many other things. One may be unable to provide consent due to illness, being unconscious, age, or cognitive disability. Most of the time people are able to make such a decision and having that choice is fundamental to all ethical concerns.
Being able to decide for yourself varies in importance depending on what it is, with one’s body being the most critical. You cannot really have any other freedom without a right to your body and your life. No one can ever violate the body of another without violating an ethical foundation central to the legal code of any modern, civilized society.
This brings us to personal freedom. Maximizing one’s personal freedoms should be the goal, and in conjunction with that, one must respect the personal freedoms of another. Taken in conjunction with the first pair, that means no one gets to tell you what to do with your body. It also means you must respect the body of another, and listen to their wishes.
Personal freedoms are not limited to something as basic as people themselves. It also covers speech, religion, and more. One has a right to one’s freedoms and an obligation to respect the freedoms of others.
Admitting and correcting mistakes is another basic concept. No one is perfect. Apologies and forgiveness will always be needed. Not every situation where there is conflict is going to call for it, but some of them will. This is a situation where there must be mutual consent.
The final idea is that these basic concepts here, regardless the form or forms they may come in, are always superior to any written code. No legal system of any kind can take precedence over these fundamental concepts.
The raw moral feelings and reason combine to give us these concepts. One can also consider these concepts in the context of one’s raw moral feelings, and then apply reason again. In this way, one shapes their ethics and morality.
