Where do Morals come from?

[enyo]

Would we know right from wrong without religion? I have heard Paul bring this case up a few times. Acts of altruism have been witnessed in many species of animals. I think this is strongly related.

Robots show the evolution of altruism

Scientists in Switzerland have pieced together the puzzle on the evolution of unselfish behaviour. They simulated genetic evolution over hundreds of generations by using simple robots, providing evidence of kin selection. Presented in the journal PLoS Biology, the study was backed in part by the EU projects ECAGENTS and SWARMANOID with a combined funding of EUR 6.8 million.

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[Bob_Head]

Where do Morals come from?

I get mine from the dollar store. I think they get them from China.

[raider.adam]

Grand Theft Auto

[NE19149]

Ya live your life in a decent way.
Ya show some decency and consideration for others.
Ya take care of your property...... hell it's yours, appreciate it.
Ya don't let yourself be swayed by propoganda and advertising.... weak minded people needing a crutch do that crap.
If ya want excitement, search out things that will benefit you in the long run.... short-term amusement will only give you grief in the end.
Same goes for cheap sex.
Am I clear?

[hammersklavier]

Where do morals come from?

I dunno. Ask Nietzsche.

[Mr Morley]

I assume they're harvested at low tide, just like any other mollusk.

[OldMama]

Gee, Mr. Morley, do you know nothing about gastronomy? Morals grow in cool damp areas, like mushrooms.

[Pibbles]

Would we know right from wrong without religion? I have heard Paul bring this case up a few times. Acts of altruism have been witnessed in many species of animals. I think this is strongly related.

Robots show the evolution of altruism

It depends who you ask. Kant believed that humans have an inherent sense of good-will, Kohlberg believes we start learning from our parents and then evolve to take on societal morals. There are a lot of philosophies that don't really have to do specifically with religion.

[Mr Morley]

Gee, Mr. Morley, do you know nothing about gastronomy? Morals grow in cool damp areas, like mushrooms.

You know, somehow as a child, I got it into my head that they were a type of mussel, and obviously that's still lurking at the back of my brain, making me wrong.

[hammersklavier]

Aren't morals mushrooms?

[OldMama]

Actually morels are mushrooms. Morals are something else altogether.

I've known many non-religious, agnostic, and atheistic people who've had a strong moral sense. And some who don't. I've known many churchgoers who've had a strong moral sense. And some who don't. I'm a churchgoer myself, but I get upset with those who equate morals as "Christian" values. Jew have no morals? Hindus? Christians don't have a monopoly on morals (as we well know based to previous posts by certain posters). Having morals should have little to do with the expectation of some heavenly afterlife and everything to do with acting responsibly in this life.

[enyo]

I agree old mama. I think the moral superiority christian crowd act more as sociopaths than their counterparts 50 percent of the time. The "Christian values, Christian Nation" crowd makes me wanna promote Islam out of spite.

I'll have to do a little more reading on Nietzche before I can fully digest what he is saying.

GTA - good one.

[2happy4u]

Morals are a part of your package. The problem is many of us have moral codes but we can't live up to them at times. We often sense we shouldn't do something but we do it anyway. Later on we feel Guilt and self Condemnation. This usually occurs when we are alone. On the other hand some will share their mistake with friends seeking allies to ease the guilt, if what they did wasn't to shameful, then they may seek a therapist. Don't know very many christians but the ones I do don't claim moral superiority, in fact they claim to be sinners.

[phoenix]

Actually morels are mushrooms. Morals are something else altogether.

I've known many non-religious, agnostic, and atheistic people who've had a strong moral sense. And some who don't. I've known many churchgoers who've had a strong moral sense. And some who don't. I'm a churchgoer myself, but I get upset with those who equate morals as "Christian" values. Jew have no morals? Hindus? Christians don't have a monopoly on morals (as we well know based to previous posts by certain posters). Having morals should have little to do with the expectation of some heavenly afterlife and everything to do with acting responsibly in this life.

Funny, the night before last at work, a coworker was telling me that "I was too kind to be an athiest, I must be Christian, I just didn't know it" to which I replied that heathens can be nice, too...what DO you say to that?

Later in in the night when we had down time (I work in a hospital) he kept trying to pick my brain, wanted to know why I would want to donate time and money to a cause, for example, if I am not getting any 'reward in heaven' or some such nonsense. I really didn't want to get into it with him, but I did say that even as a child, when I was religious and read the bible faithfully, I thought the 'reward in heaven' was silly...you help others because you don't want to see others suffer, or you want to make others happy. End of story.

I would think your moral code you adopt would be something you learn from society and your parents, generally. Mind, I managed to pick up some ****ty ideas of right and wrong from my foster parents, and I managed to see that they were rules that I couldn't live by, and I managed to change, in fact, I think when it comes to some ideas, we change and grow...mostly for the better, I would hope.

Just my two cents....

[whatever]

I get mine from the dollar store. I think they get them from China.

yeah Bobhead suggests rape toward people. Trash dump behind $ store. Morals are not from Philly.

[supersupper]

Do unto others as you would have others do to you.

Most people simply act "morally" correct because of the simple fact it works best all the way around. Sometimes we all slip up or take an easy route, hence religious philosophies various propensities to allow for the "sinner's forgiveness" clause.

If you are cocky and full of self importance or hubris or self confidence, you do what you want to obtain what you want (or what you think is right) because you are pretty sure no one is smarter/more powerfull than you, and so can't do to you what you did to them... which generally has a snowball effect.

Then again, about 6-10% of the human population are psychopaths, which means they simply act out of self-interest with no empathy. That 10% pervades everywhere, whether it be politicians, religious leaders, CEO's, the grocery store checkout person, or Cleveland Ohio.

Religion was created in part to help the victims of psychopaths feel okay that they were victimized. BTW, the other part of the reason for the creation of religion was as an instrument of psychopaths (or psychopath wannabes) to control the general populace.


off to the fireworks !

[mixiboi]

should ask him

[Gone]

It's by "CHANCE" we have morals.

[raider.adam]

From painters who are bad spellers.

[markedixon]

Would we know right from wrong without religion?[/B]

An anthropologist would probably say that morals come from agriculture, i.e., farming. Farming requires people to settle in one place and, therefore, to develop relationships with neighbors, who are also living in one place. Getting along with neighbors adds to everyone's odds of survival.

I'm going to guess that animals who exhibit altruism probably live in packs, where the dynamic is similar to that of humans.