Why did humans evolve a conscience?

Question

Is there an evolutionary purpose to have a conscience and be able to reason, debate, and think about moral issues? Since humans are animals, just more resourceful than other animals, what would the benefit be from having these things? Does it keep us safe from other agressive animals? Does it provide us with a better way to procreate or find food?

i know that many believe that it has to do with caring for offspring, problem solving etc. and if so, then why do animals not have a similar conscience as humans? animals take care of their young and problem solve in regards to finding food, etc, yet cannot reason or debate moral issues like man can

Answer 1

Yes... there is an evolutionary purpose... people without conscience wold not bother to stick around and take care of their mates or young... they would naturally become extinct in a very short period of time.

Those without conscience would hurt others and quickly be banished from a tribe, without which they cannot survive. Only those who empathize and have concern for others can survive intergenerationally...

Edit: Sorry, but if you ever observe animals, they grieve the loss of mates, and especially primates have strict social orders that are enforced by leaders... and they have no god.

Answer 2

Conscience is inextricably linked to group survival strategies. If you consider how we used to live in extended clans where there was a large amount of inbreeding and harsh challenges for the group to face you can see how individualism wasn't a great feature of our evolutionary past. What I'm saying is that in an inbred community individuals are drawn to protect the group above themselves because that is the best strategy for the survival of the group genes which in the case of inbred people happens to be one's own genes too.
So putting others needs before one's own via a conscience was important a long time ago. In reality though it was still survival of one's own genes as I've explained so this is consistent with Darwinian survival.
Nowadays conscience is something which holds people back from achieving success in an individualist culture. We could see conscience being selected out as a feeble trait. When we can clone ourselves freely and conquer all diseases we may not need other people at all and that will be the end of the need for conscience. I don't think that will ever happen because we all have to share a finite amount of resources. Compromise will always be necessary.

Answer 3

yes, it was part of the evolution and development of society - being a member of a group is beneficial for obvious reasons, and having a sense of how to behave within that group is vital to remaining part of it, hence, a conscience. The more susceptible the animal is to danger without the group, the more necessary the concept of positive group behaviour.

edit - many lower animals (dogs, etc) do display the characteristics of conscience, they know they are in trouble if they break the group rules, etc.

Answer 4

Other social mammals do have a conscience, and are capable of communicating awareness of wrong doing, and the individual to whom this awareness is communicated shows no instinctive requirement to accept this acknowledgement -- grudges are not unknown amongst non-humans. This is documented in other apes, simians, social canids, social felines (which, granted is pretty much just the lions), and a few others.

Answer 5

I think it evolved out of herd behaviour - animals behave often with the interests of the herd to the fore, rather than the interests of the individual. As we developed co-operative behaviour, the concept of society emerged from that basis into a set of rules of what must not be done for the society or tribe to thrive and tolerate the actions of an individual. It helped develop structured lines for all the other elements - procreation, food-hunting and growing, etc - and has continued to be a useful guide to societal acceptance and progression ever since.

Answer 6

Having a conscience frees us from
having a Jailer.
Enuff said?

Answer 7

For social reasons. We are a social species and empathy is very important to creatures that form social groups as opposed to solitary, nomadic creatures like polar bears and great white sharks. But it's difficult to talk of evolution once a species has gained sentience. Because the ability to accumulate knowledge kind of takes over once sentience has been gained.

In answer to your additional details: animals have not gained sentience. Higher animal species like chimps have been observed to have a rudimentary form of empathy but because they lack the ability to analyze cause and effect, this hasn't progressed like ours has.

Answer 8

Like everything else, it comes through mutation. Human societies, containing people who have consciences, tended to last longer in history. I imagine those who had none, were often driven off from society, as they are today. Except we put them in jail.

Answer 9

Think of what having a conscience, and social/moral rules, does for society...
It keeps us from killing each other. (Well, mostly)
Pretty good way to further the species, no?

Answer 10

as an animal, a conscience would be a hinderance. if neanderthals were like people today and said "no, we won't kill that mammoth. it hasn't done us anything" we wouldn't survive.

and you can't "evolve" into having a conscience. a conscience is a state of mind. if you never feel even the slightest bit guilty for being immoral, your conscience is basically dead.