The Evolutionary Roots of Morality?

[Dezzie]

Ah... I think I see where you are going with this.
Well... I think there are many different reasons in being good.
One, to love and just to be good to others. (this shouldn't have to be a value. To have a good heart shouldn't mean anything but to just be nice and to make someone elses life easier and full of more joy.)
Two, for a happy and healthy life for yourself.
and Three... for, yes... religion or God (if that is what a person believes in).

But then, why do animals have a morality? Do they have religions too? OR, do they just have a good heart and mind?

 

[astarath]

Why should you be good though? Are there not those who feel good causing pain? Is their sense of morality skewed or wrong?

Morality in this day and age rarely offers benefits as often as set backs. I believe the addage is "nice guys finish last"

As for animals having morality, I dont think they do rather feel they have primal survival instincts. Those who travel together survive those who stray from the pack get picked of by a predator and die.

 

[Dezzie]

Why should you be good though? Are there not those who feel good causing pain? Is their sense of morality skewed or wrong?

I guess I can see your point here. We all have different views on what is right and wrong.

Morality in this day and age rarely offers benefits as often as set backs. I believe the addage is "nice guys finish last"

Ah yes... the nice guys finish last statement. I never did like that. I love the nice guys. I don't see anything wrong with them at all.

When I have good morals I see a lot of benefits within myself. Even if a person doesn't say thank you or even notices what I do, it doesn't matter to me. I like making a person happy and I like making a person's life easier. Even doing good for animals and just something small, is a reward on my shoulder. It's just better to me than feeling like I am going to make someone's day worse.

As for animals having morality, I dont think they do rather feel they have primal survival instincts. Those who travel together survive those who stray from the pack get picked of by a predator and die.

So... you don't think that just maybe an animal would feel sorrow or pain when one of the others dies or gets harmed? We have instincts too. We are just as much animals as anything else. We feed, feel, touch, help, and care (well... some of us do). Don't we have survival instincts as well? Isn't that in our nature?

One day I remember walking down the street near my home town... there was a baby animal caught in the middle of the road... the "mother" (I am assuming) had already crossed the street. I remember seeing the parent go back to help the baby. Unfortunately the baby got run over (sad I know) but... do you think the mother went back out of pure instinct, or just maybe out of love? Just a thought...

 

[J Bryson]

What benefits derive from morality in today's society? Excellent question. I'd like to give a quite specific example from my own life, if no one minds.

Something that everyone should know about me in order to understand a lot about how I see the world: I've lived on and off the streets for years at a time. Not out of any addiction or laziness, but rather through a total lack of getting normal society, at least in terms of what I'm supposed to do in order to keep a roof over my head. This isn't a great thing, but it's how I seem to be cobbled together.

The last time I was on the streets, I was in Venice, CA. This is NOT a good place to be homeless for the most part. In Venice, you have hardcore street people and at least three competing gangs. The crowd is rough, mean, drunk, and looking for a fight at any and all opportunities.

The entire time that I was out there, I refused to let go of my moral principles. If someone needed something and I was in a position to spare it, I would spare it. I would listen to those in pain and despair, and try to be sympathetic. I remained loyal to those who I called my friends. I'd listen to gossip, but never repeat it. I attempted to see the inherent dignity and worth of every single person who slept in that parking lot with me.

To this day, I can walk down the Boardwalk at two a.m., and no one will lay a hand on me. If someone does try something, I have backup with a single shout. The people who scare people away from the neighborhood late at night, the drunks, the gang members, the madmen and madwomen...I call them my friends, and they call me the same. And all because I refused to stoop to "looking out for number one" when common sense called for it.

Of course, as the Principia Discordia says, "Common sense is what tells you that the world is flat."

 

[Comicaze247]

Well, it makes sense to me. I'd think that morals were constructed to ensure safety of the species.

 

[Caladan]

It seems to me that, ultimately, a sense of morality is derived from the interaction of our genes with their environment.

Well thats a bit of a cosmic an absolute vision of morality and genes, as at the bottom line, everything about us comes down to genetics, and our morality is derived from our social instincts.

 

[Makaveli]

Morality only exists in the context of society, and its sole purpose is to regulate the constituents of society. As humans evolved and more and more complex civilizations were formed, there was a greater need for a set of moral codes to govern the people.

For example, there is a universal ban on murder in all societies. Why would this independently spring up everywhere? Without such a taboo, society could not exist, because safety is the most important pre-requisite. If every person is looking over his shoulder to see if someone is going to murder him, then society cannot function. Some people would group together with others that they could trust not to kill them, proving that when society fails to protect its citizens, other societies form to take its place.

I therefore postulate that morality was an evolutionary response to the development of civilization, as a form of governing alongside the law.