We all know that children aren't born knowing right from wrong straight away, but rather we develop a conscience over the years.
This makes perfect sense if you accept our evolutionary origins - there is no evolutionary advantage to being unselfish and considerate as a very young child, you are helpless and you just need to get fed and protected and survive even if your siblings perish. However, when we're adults and we have to look after ourselves, there are huge survival advantages in being caring and co-operative with each other, so any genes which promote this trait will tend to proliferate in a population.
If we were really products of a god, who made us with a moral sense, then it would seem reasonable to expect that very young children would be the most moral individuals, since they would be closest to the unsullied design of said deity.
That's why I think religion has a big problem explaining morality compared to how well it's accounted for by evolution.
Agreed?
2007-04-07
12:58:21
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12 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
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Religion & Spirituality