Here is one athiest's moral code. It is not a set of arbitrary commandments but principles that apply to every apsect of life based on the fact that whatever violates the nature of reality, which includes human nature, is evil:
- Every individual not only can, but must, consciously choose everything he thinks and does. Any attempt to evade the fact everything one does is by choice, such as blaming feelings, desires, impulses, genetics, society, ones boss, policy, duty, ill health, moods, or anything else, is immoral
- Every individual has their own mind and is responsible for everything they think, choose, and do. Any attempt to evade that responsibility is immoral.
- Every individual has the ability to learn all they need to learn to be all they can possibly be as a human being, and they must learn all they possibly can about as many things as they possibly can and they must do this as long as they live. Not leaning all one possibly can is immoral.
- Every individual has the ability to think and reason well enough to make right choices about everything they must. Every individual must use their ability to reason about everything they believe, think, choose, and do; which means, they must never accept a contradiction, never surrender their reason to feelings, whims, desires, passions, or fears, and never just accept anything as true they do not themselves understand how and why it is true. Failing or evading to think as well as one possibly can about all things is immoral.
- Every individual must use all their ability and effort to be and accomplish all they possibly can as a human being. Anything less is not only immoral but a failure to live the life that is possible, which will, at best, lead only to a life of regret and disappointment, but, more likely, to a life that ends in grief or despair. To do less than one's best in all things is immoral.
- Reality does not supply human beings with the requirements of thier life— neither food, clothing, shelter, medicine, or knowledgek; they must all be produced by human beings. No one is born with a claim to any of these things and no one may morally seek what one has not produced, earned, or merited by ones own effort: not wealth, not goods, not services, not pleasure, not position, and not reputation. So long as ones wealth is produced by ones own effort, it may be traded for anything anyone else has produced. Acquiring or seeking anything by any means other than producing it, earning it, or buying it, is immoral
- Freedom is a moral requirement for all individuals. Every individual must seek to be as free as possible, free to use their minds to think whatever they choose, free to make any choices they judge to be right, and free to work and produce in any way they choose. Anyone who fails to seek to be free, or seeks freedom by any means other than earning it by their own effort is immoral.
- The only moral relationship between individuals is reason. Individuals may morally deal with one another by means of reason to their mutual benefit, socially, financially, in business or other cooperative efforts, or any other way they mutually choose. All other relationships are immoral.
- Every individual is different from every other individual. No individual can know what is right for any other individual. Any attempt to interfere in the life of any other individual to influence his thoughts or choices, by any means except reason, is immoral.
The last may be restated as the true golden rule such as:
"Do nothing unto others, ever!"
-or-
"Mind your own business!"
The purpose of moral values is to provide the principles by which one may live successfully and happily in this world.