Where did morality come from?

[Wally]

Please bear with me as I'm no expert on either evolutionary theory or creationism. I simply have a question that's been bouncing around in my head for some time now and I hope that someone here can help me out with it. This question is more philosophical in nature than scientific.

If human beings are simply the products (byproducts?) of random processes and chance biological happenings and, like every other species on the planet, arose from earlier species that concerned themselves with little more than survival at all costs, then where did our sense of morality come from?

How is it evolutionarily advantageous to feel sympathy for your fellow human beings and even help them if there is absolutely no benefit for yourself or your immediate offspring? Why did humans develop the capability for sympathy for total strangers when this doesn't seem to provide any survival advantage at all?

If anything, this would seem to be a hindrance that would increase the likelihood that you would NOT survive. It would seem that any early human that had developed feelings of compassion and empathy towards his fellow men, as opposed to having simply a "survive at all costs" mentality, would be much more likely to put himself in unnecessary danger (by sticking his neck out for someone else, for example) or would be less willing to harm someone else to forward his own lineage, thereby drastically reducing the likelihood that these higher feelings of compassion would be passed on to subsequent generations.

Man has taken on habits that are in direct conflict with the "survival of the fittest" idea. We've devised methods of keeping people alive that have "defective" genes (diabetes sufferers, babies born with defective hearts, etc.) thereby weakening the gene pool with human lineages that mother nature is trying to get rid of. Why is it that humans, alone on the planet, have progressed past our base survival instincts?

Where did all this morality come from? Why did man alone develop these qualities in what is otherwise a sea of unadulterated survivalists?

Wally

[dangerdan]

So you believe there is an objective moral that says we can not go into Iraq?

I said that the protesters were taking part because they personally felt a moral obligation to do so. Obviously some people mustn’t have, and other people were simply apathetic. So I could happily give you my personal opinion as to why I felt the Iraq war was immoral, but this is probably not the thread for it.

Now if you say that the fact that I wished my opinion be held universally points to an objective morality, do go on...

Where did you recieve this transcending moral?

I believe morality is simply grounded on basic compassion that seems to be prevalent, to a greater or less degree, in healthy human beings. Treating others how you want to be treated, etc, etc. When deciding what I think is the moral course of action, I am merely extrapolating from this basic compassion with rational thought.

If it was just a biological impulse, which is what evolutionists would have you believe, then this wasn't a moral at all. It was just an instinct.

Hmmm, I think “instinct” has a slightly different meaning to what we are discussing. If you mean to say that compassion is merely instinct, then perhaps I might agree with you, just like the quest for food and shelter and a mate are instincts. But if you say that our “moral actions” are merely instincts, then I would beg to differ. I would say it is pure rational thought grounded by compassion. Just like I would not call it “instinct” to go to a McDonalds and order some chicken Mcnuggets. Sure the primitive instinct is to eat, but I would call the action (of going to Micky D’s) quite rational.

Do you believe we should follow all of our instincts? Is that what morality really is, following instincts?

I believe we should be given, as much as possible, the freedom to do what we like (including “following instincts”), as long as it doesn’t harm other people or their basic human rights, or the social responsibilities of the area. Now I would then go on to say I would prefer people treated others with warmth and compassion, but you can’t force people to be nice.