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by darthson decries derigible destruction on February 13th, 2008
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Comments
Humans have an ingrained sense of morality because of our evolution in a hunter-gatherer society in which we benefitted from the benevolence of our fellow man. That little voice in your head is a part of your brain that has evolved to realize that helping others and being kind is the "right" thing to do.
by Deep Blue on February 13th, 2008
So- according to this, there really is no right or wrong- just the idea of what's best for ME? So why should I care if someone in NYC dies when I'm on the other side of the nation? It's not "wrong" then.
by darthson decries derigible destruction on February 13th, 2008
I think you misunderstood Deep Blue's comment. He is referring to the evolution of human altruism in evolutionary psychology. Darthson: ever hear of TIT-FOR-TAT? You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours in return. In early human evolution, people who helped others were better off than cheats who took advantage, so the cooperative people survived. It is the current evolutionary theory as to why humans feel compassion. So, there is a definite right and wrong... The "right" thing to do is be helpful and compassionate, cooperating with others. The "wrong" thing to do is to take advantage of others. This is a basis for morality that holds whether you believe in God or not.
by Siddharma on February 13th, 2008
So, in other words, "survival of the fittest" only applies to non-humans? And, once again, those suicide bombers were doing something great then- they were helping their race, fighting off another branch of humanity. So they weren't doing anything wrong, then.
by darthson decries derigible destruction on February 13th, 2008
Survival of the fittest applies to all species, including humans. The ability to work in cohesive groups (in which compassion and benevolence is necessary) has allowed the human species to thrive and out-compete all others. But you can see the same behavior in other hunter-gatherer species such as canines. A canine's sense of loyalty and benevolence is unrivaled by even humans. Like ours, theirs is a product of evolution. To respond to the second part of your question, suicide bombing can and is considered by some to be a morally right thing to do in some circumstances. This is why it happens. But what is right for one group of people isn't right for others. That is why we fight it.
by Deep Blue on February 14th, 2008
So, in the end, there is no such thing as altruism, or even absolute right or wrong. Is that where you're leading me?
So then, self-sacrifice for someone you've never met- that's not really self-sacrifice at all. Awards for person of the year? Really, they're rewarding selfish behavior- because in the end, it's all about me, or at least my tribe?
by darthson decries derigible destruction on February 14th, 2008
"Right" and "Wrong" are human creations. Doing the "right" thing feels good because the brain is programmed to deliver itself a small reward for doing the "right" thing. This includes altruism. Society's rules and moral are a codification of the human brain's evolutionary drive to succeed via cooperation and beneficence. We need such rules and reward systems to thrive as a species.
by Deep Blue on February 14th, 2008
And I would strongly debate this- if it's evolutionary, then we should be focused on just our own tribe, since we're competing with other tribes. Why should I feel good giving money to orphans in Africa? It goes counter to what you're saying- I get no derived benefit whatsoever from it in an evolutionary sense. That person cannot repay me in any way. I could buy it in face-to-face helpings; but even then, why would I ever tip a waitress in a city I'm passing through and will never see again?
by darthson decries derigible destruction on February 14th, 2008
"if it's evolutionary, then we should be focused on just our own tribe" -- that is where evolutionary psychology branches off from evolutionary biology. animals share a kin altruism, altruism toward relatives. Humans broke that barrier by extending altruism outside the family lines. Humans started with kin altruism, but then tribes got too big and humans mated outside the tribe, to the point where it was impossible to tell who you were related to. The mental strategy that survived was cooperation with relatives and non-relatives, and non-cooperators mostly died off.
by Siddharma on February 14th, 2008
The mental strategy that performed best was altruism; those who did favors for others won the evolutionary race in the end. The best cooperators were those that chose to help others they don't even know on the first encounter. These cooperators were the most fit in the eyes of natural selection, so they passed on their cooperative traits to their children, and eventually on to you. Nowadays, the survival of your genes may not rely on how much you help others, but the tendency to cooperate is stuck in us. I find it fascinating how altruism used to be a survival necessity... and now, you can see that same altruism when you tip a waitress you will never see again.
by Siddharma on February 14th, 2008
Again, there is a "right" and "wrong". The right thing is cooperate or help. Your body sends you signals of happiness when you do it; the body still thinks it's the way to survive. It's not right just for me, because it benefits everyone. It is absolutely amazing that the right thing, thanks to evolution and built in our genes, is the same right thing that Jesus tells us. The Golden Rule is exactly the strategy that survived early human evolution. So again, whether you believe in God or not, the "right" thing to do is the same - be altruistic. If it helps, God could have directed evolution, such that altruism was hard-wired into all humans.
by Siddharma on February 14th, 2008
I believe that the answer to that would be that every human being is brought up in a diffrent family/society/etc.. and is educated by the things surrounding that person. So if a terrorist decided to blow up a plane or a building, it would be because he had been brainwashed by the things that surrounded him. Just as if a child is born in to a family of monkeys he would act like a monkey. Thats why human beings each have a perception of what is right or wrong! Think logically before you say to us atheists that if we do not believe in God we will go to hell! Because I think you will find that most wars(pff, all of them) and problems in this world are caused by RELIGION.
by tillbill on January 19th, 2010