Well, there can be a number of possible motivations. First of all, a parent
(regardless of his or her religion or lack thereof) is certainly very
predisposed to put his or her child's life ahead of his or her own. Indeed,
this is even observed in the animal world, and it makes sense from an
evolutionary perspective, if the driving force behind evolution is an
organism's desire to pass on its own genes.
However, that is not by any means the only way that a materialist can be
selfless with his or her life. As I outlined earlier, the basis of humanist
morality (which is the moral code that most atheists adhere to) is empathy.
And empathy can be a very powerful thing; much more so than Jim and others
give it credit for. I know that my empathy for the people around me often
allows me to make sacrifices to help the people that I care about. Of course,
that is a long way from sacrificing one's life, and, although I have never
been in a life-threatening situation and I am not 100% sure that my courage
would hold up, I strongly believe that if an innocent life was in danger
(especially if it was my girlfriend, or a family member, or a close friend),
I would be willing to risk my life to help them.
_____________________________________________________________
| Russell Stewart |
| http://www.rt66.com/diamond/ |
|_____________________________________________________________|
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | diamond@rt66.com |
|_____________________________|_______________________________|
2 + 2 = 5, for very large values of 2.