Do human beings have an inherent sense of morality, or is all morality learned behavior?

Question

We seem to believe that humans are inherently moral, with many believing this is a direct gift from a Creator. I'm not so sure, and am interested in comments / opinions.

Answer 1

Morality is created by humans based on our natural human desires embedded in our genes. Example: We desire to live because it is in our nature to survive, and so, logically to us, it is immoral to kill another human being....especially if they've done nothing to you to deserve it.

Answer 2

After reviewing the answers I'm not sure we are all talking about the same thing. I am in the morality is taught camp, as the cannibalism argument suggests. It also shows the variation in what various cultures define as moral. One could argue therefore that if morality is something that can be defined, differently by different cultures, it cannot be an inherent human quality. The abuse victim would agree I think, since she went from being an unfortunate victim by one moral definition, to being victimized by another, differing definition of morality. An inherent human quality would be that same in all humans wouldn't it? And the parent caring for a child example seems to be talking about empathy, which I might argue is perhaps an inane human characteristic. Not a sound argument since I've met people without a trace of it.

Answer 3

Our morality or the lack of it is taught. "Children learn what they live", and what has been handed down for generations for thousands of years.

What we live today is the aftermath of that very evolution.

That is all our society can judge the level of morality by.

Inherently we are kind and loving, although we may not all love the same things.

It is interesting to watch those among us who without our knowledge are close to their death and they become the peacemakers of the unkindnesses that have entered into their life experience.

Elderly adults often reach out to those who they have squabbled with to bury the hatchet, bringing peace before they depart, sometimes attempting to do so years before they pass and will put an end to feuds that have lasted decades.

No offense but your question is slightly confusing to me, in that the first part is only about "morality", yet the second part is "all morality".

My opinion is we have an inherent sense of morality and all morality is not learned. Yet all morality is tinged with the evolution of what has been brought down through the ages.

Answer 4

Great question. Start by asking yourself where a sense of morality would come from (biologically). Then ask what moral facts are there. Eventually, I think, you will come to the conclusion that we have neither an inherent sense of morality, nor a coherent idea of what morality is. Thus, there is no such thing as morality.

Answer 5

If by inherent you mean self-created, then morality is a learned behavior subject to the accumulation of experience over a vast number of lives. The latter forms habits in the consciousness or what we commonly call a personality with moral or immoral tendencies (defined by a societal standard of morality).

Answer 6

Our moral sense is more or less consciously a strategic contrivance for our own survival. As a matter of principle human beings may not be moral at all. To be moral is not a gift, much less of a Creator. To be moral is a necessity.

Human beings, like all other living beasts, go on sinning against each other - stealing as much as possible from each other and from life at large, and smashing each other's face, and condemning and even killing each other very often.

The iron-hard and merciless conditions of survival may make it necessary to contrive morals by which morals to keep each other as moral hostages, so we set up a civilization where morality is an expedient, one of many, to try to make it possible for us to survive in what we may call a ... God-given civilized way.

Answer 7

Morality is a built-in factor. A newly born, instinctively, knows morality. A slight misbehavior will evoke his crying. However, definitions/words of morality may be different but the underlying morality is same every where. If you shut your mouth and start behaving without talking, you could be understood, as such, by others. It is the universality of morality that is underneath all human behavior.

Answer 8

Value systems of societies and cultures across the world and time have been different.
Depending upon various factors ( historical situations and circumstances, for eg.) that a given society has to encounter and the ideas that are prevalent and accepted in the society form the base of its value system.
Society is dynamic in nature ie. it continues to change. Value system is not a constant because of the nature of Society and thus it changes with the society.
Morals are an important component of the value system and so they are not free of the changing nature of the society.
Since every society develops in its own way (as the factors influencing every society are not the same) morals differ from society to society.

Morals then differ not only from society to society but also differ in time within the same society.
We imbibe morals that are passed on to us by our elders.
We also pass on the same to our children, though (always possible) the content, emphasis and intensity may differ.

All moral behavior is thus a learned behavior.

Answer 9

it is learned behavior, but it is also very consistent as morality is based on similar values all over the world, for example not stealing which almost all society holds true to (never mind the spartans).
it's not that morality is inherent but some factors that morality is based on are inherent, like that all young children are obedient to their parents commands (unless influenced to be otherwise of course) as this is a survival trait; depending on a more capable being who can generally be trusted to keep you safe if you follow its instructions.
morality may be based on inherent factors, but morality itself is then based on outside influences, not the least of which is the society around you, and this often can override the inherent impulses as well.

Answer 10

Morality is not a function of religion in spite of what religion says. Morality is an inborn trait that most people seem to possess early in life, and they have this strong moral compass with or without religious training. It is fairly standard throughout all cultures and throughout history.

By the same token, some people who are raised in strong religious families become mass murderers, and many will cheat at cards! Go figure!

Answer 11

During 1800s, Anthropologists had a problem as to how
to classify human beings. One resercher proposed the
expression "intelligent animal". After advanced studies
on monkeys, it was dropped. Another reseacher proposed
"tool using animal". After observing some animals
making wooden tools and sharpening them with knife like
stones, it was dropped. Another researcher proposed
"weapon using animal". A decade ago, a rare film was
shot in African forests. One short monkey was hit very
badly by a big monkey. The short monkey prepared a
wooden knife using stones and hid it on the top of a
tree. After some days, when the big monkey came to
attack the short monkey, it ran up to the tree for the
weapon it has hid and killed the big monkey. The one
thing that the anthropologists found with any group of
human beings, even if they did not have contacts with
the out side world for thousands of years, is
spirituality with some form of religion. So, man is a
"spiritual animal" if you want to call him that way.
"Manush" (human) was so named because he has "Manas" a
mind higher than that of the animals which realises the
divinity in creation. It was present since the creation
of human beings. Religion is the characteristic feature
of most of the human beings. It is as eternal and
and as unchanging as the Almighty. Morality is a part
of this.