By that I mean would I know the difference between right and wrong, if I hadn't been socialised into knowing the difference?
2007-01-31 23:15:30 · 2 answers · asked by In Between Mind States 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
I believe some is instinctive and others are taught, for instance we do not need to put our hand to the stove to know that it is hot but yet instinctivley we do just incase someone was wrong, Manners are something that is taught and is promoted as worthy in society.
2007-01-31 23:35:53 · answer #1 · answered by Natashya K 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We are born with innate behaviour which is designed to preserve ourselves and our close relatives from harm (the 'selfish gene'). Higher 'abstract' behaviours and beliefs such as altruism and morality are products of society, communication and education. To get an answer to the question, people try to study those human children who have been raised in the wild by animals. As far as I know, those children have no concept of morality. They will learn that something is 'wrong' if they are chastised for it by a higher ranked animal/human.
There is an excellent novel by Jill Paton Walsh that explores this kind of thing (see below).
2007-01-31 23:41:37 · answer #2 · answered by SteveNaive 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋