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The Judaic and Protestant traditions demand we exemplify God without depicting, 'mocking', the all-creator. This creates a problem for a person, who may have already internalized a multiple-personality God. Then we have the problem of deciding: what is revelation, what is illusion? That is, we need criteria for determining what is 'holy' within the self and what is 'profane'. Grounding benevolence in individualism robs it of its extra-human/'supernatural' aspect. I see the negative effects of the process of de-mystification, but worry about the dangers of re-mystification involved with trying to base ethics on individualism.The principles of individualism are:
(1) personal happiness, which is equated with self-love.
(2) valorization of ordinary private existence in relationships and the family, and increasingly leisure time even from these to just daydreaming.
(3) built-in benevolence
Let's be clear that these principles of individualism are not bad in themselves. After all, the fundemental dignity of all living things is an offshoot of valuing ordinary life and espousing benevolence. But perhaps this benevolence is a series reverse golden-rules in a range from "Don't do unto others, lest they do unto you" to "Prevent people from doing what is socially perceived as evil through legislation." There is a possibility here of a 'bene-violence'. Matters of health (personal) get treated as moral issues (social). The first postulate is hard to take seriously in terms of the third, in light of the overarching notion of a process of self-enlightenment or personal development. Number Two is supposed to bridge the gap, by leading us to construct meaningful relationships, and then generalize these up through various levels of clan, community, nation, to the human species as a whole, and even a sort of 'cosmic-ethics'.Once again, I must point out the absurdity of making individual happiness the basis for a concept of the good life. Childhood and adolescence are often tragic and yet resolve into an integrated family and community life in adulthood. Humans are very resilient, thrive on challenges, to take a more Stoic view. The peaceful suburbs are a Sargasso Sea where humans lose their motivation and are content to be farmed like cattle. But the main problem is that the third principle so limits the first, perhaps they should be reversed. But really, this moral philosophy is a typical bait-and-switch.
We are assured of at least a simple happiness, but that immediately is limited to what is 'at-hand' in terms of the family and community we are in. Few venture beyond simple happiness, and those that can are limited in their pursuit. In fact, there is no guarantee implied in this 'happiness.' It seems like a way of saying "Just live the normal way we tell you to and don't worry about changing the world." The primacy of (1) is used against us when we are told we can't have it. You can't live in a healthy environment because individuals want to happily fill dumps with packaging, joyride in their cars and ATVs, overfish the oceans, dam the streams, mow the forests into tree-farms, and generally overpopulate the planet. Or conversely, you can't smoke in your favorite greasy spoon diner because it will make the heart attacks worse for everyone who eats there on a regular basis.
On the other hand, we have a situation where (3) is violated constantly with those from 'ordinary life', often simply a matter of foolish planning. Chernobyl, Bhopal, and the use of Native lands for nuclear waste dumps are not the only part of the story. There's also Love Canal and Three Mile Island, which show callousness for even the upper-middle class. The banality of evil (c.f. Hannah Arendt) knows no social boundary. The needs of the few entrepreneur individualists outweigh the needs of the many. The primacy of individualism is part of the perverse logic that, along with the cash, drives drug wars and private prison booms. There is a culture in America that loves its children so much they think the "rhythm method" is probably making God angry, and would kill to prevent kids being harmed in any way. That is, until they are old enough to be tried as adults.
