The Origins of Morality
Beliefnet -
--We *are* hard-wired for morality... while we can accurately describe the biology of how this occurs, in my mind it doesn't speak to where this moral compass originally comes from.
fangi
It doesn't come from anywhere, it evolved as an advantage in humans.
Rules in religion are just other types of social rules. That they are religious is just a different classification. Many religious leaders use the idea of an authority of god as a way to persuade believers that a moral idea is better than if it was proposed on its own merit.
F1fan
2 comments:
And still the arguments regarding what is morality, is it hardwired in humans and where does it come from, rage on at Beliefnet and elsewhere. A working dictionary definition could be "Moral: Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character." I don't find much truth or accuracy in either POV of fangi or F1fan.
"Hard-wiring" implies that moral choices are automatically and accurately selected by each human, regardless of the existing social mores (within the society that a human is a member of.) From observation we know this is not the case.
Saying that morality evolved as an advantage for humans, makes me wonder who among humans are "advantaged" by their moral choices, because moral choices, exhibited by humans, vary across a wide spectrum. Is it the ability to make moral choices that is the "advantage?" An advantage over an animal's instinct?
What are the "Standards" used to determine the "goodness or badness" of human actions or characters? Authoritarian dictates [God, King, Tyrant, Junta, etc,] Ethical Principles [Life, Freedom, Equality, Justice, etc,] or Cultural Preservation [Rites, Rituals, Myths, etc.] Whatever the choice of Standards, I do not see hard-wiring or evolutionary effects present in human moral choices.
I think the hard wiring is to comply with the mores and morality of the tribe that one is a member of. This tribal membership may be genetic, as the extended family was the original tribal structure. But in a modern information rich culture tribal memberships are generally chosen, frequently on religious lines as religion is a natural extention of the extended family, but there are many other tribal choices. Gangs, sport teams, occupational, artistic, and intellectual groups can also provide the basis for a modern tribe or Social Support Group
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