Moral Compass Myth?

Question

Is there a moral compass built into humans?

For example I give a hypothetical situation:

A human child is abducted out of the maternity ward by aliens and taken back to their planet.

This child is raised by the aliens as their own, he is not mistreated according to their cultural values.

The aliens society views murder, rape, torture, kidnapping, etc. as acceptable behaviour.

This child is then returned to earth after thirty years on the liens planet.


Would this human be horrified by his new home (the alien planet) and be a 'normal' but ‘screwed up’ human when returned, or would he be exactly like the aliens? Does this mean that humans do or do not have a built in moral compass? What does this mean for our society and moral codes?

Please explain your answers. I thank you in advance for your insight.

Answer 1

Great question. I say he would act like the aliens. Humans do not have an inborn moral compass.

However, this does not mean that we are inherently "evil" either. He's only evil because the aliens taught him to murder, rape, etc!

Furthermore, it does not mean that an institutional (religious, legal, etc) moral compass is any better, either. I'm sure you're well aware of the numerous historical examples of horrible atrocities committed in the name of god or institutional values.

I conclude that it's best for parents to raise their children as they see fit. Even, if some have different values than others. I say keep government and religion out of family life unless the parents choose that as their moral compass.

True morality can only stem from the family and individual freedom of thought.

Answer 2

When the abductee grows on the new planet, this is where the moral compass theory would kick in. If it is true, then they will be tormented by their opposing feelings toward the aliens' "norm" behaviors. Ultimately they may absorb the alien lack of morals and change for the worst. When returned to earth it will take some time for their moral compass to work again, and be relieved to be in a "mostly" civil society. If there is no such thing as a moral compass, the child will grow and act as the aliens do. I think that when the abductee returns to earth, he/she will still be accustomed to the ways of the first planet. They may not view rape, murder, etc..as wrong even though the majority here does. However, the simple fact remains that people grow and learn from their environment. Those that overcome shortfalls, or in this case, immorality, in their lives have a higher level of moral achievement. There are always people with morals and people without. In either case we do learn from our environment. So if the aliens view rape and murder as fine in their society, the abductee will also think it is fine (it's not to say they will murder or anything else). Back on earth, murder, rape, etc..is not fine and will not be done. Morals are a tricky thing. In simple terms: people accustom to things pretty quickly. We're pretty versatile and do things for good. Anyone who is not and does bad things does not have morals anyway.