Why would we need to " evolve " a sense of right and wrong? ( morals )?

Question

This is for people who believed we evolved. What circumstances would require morals to evolve when they were not needed before?


( I believe we got our morals from God when he created us )

Just searching for a logical explanation. If you claim it is for survival I think you are wrong. If survival was the goal wouldn't we all reproduce as soon as we are mature enough, instinctually ? To ensure the survival of the species? ( like other animals )

So in your Logic we all should evolve to the point of No wars? No killing? eventually?

Answer 1

It IS for survival. The evolution into a tribal society caused a need for the society to create rules. There have been numerous sociological and psychological studies on this (one of the most famous is "Why War", a series of letters between Freud & Einstein).

These rules (morals) HAVE changed over time, read your own Bible to see that -----if you tried half the crap that people got away with in the Old Testament you'd rot away in prison for the rest of your life.

Answer 2

Humans survive and flourish by virtue of cooperation and interdependence. It really improves our chances if we can get along and adhere to a shared code of behavior, instead of running around stealing and killing each other like a bunch of psychopaths. Morality and ethics also change from culture to culture, which to me is evidence that they evolved to help us cope in our social and geographical environments.

I don't really get how "If you claim it is for survival I think you are wrong. If survival was the goal wouldn't we all reproduce as soon as we are mature enough, instinctually ?" ties into the question. But it would be very maladaptive for us to reproduce as soon as we gained physical maturity because we may not yet have the mental maturity or the resources to properly care for children.

Answer 3

We don't need to evolve into anything. It is just a direction that nature guides us too. Right and wrong are concepts that vary between cultures. Many different people believe in God, yet still have various ideas of right and wrong. The problem is that you are basing your morals on a book that was written by so many men with different ideas and morals.

If you were to follow the old testament then you would believe that killing non-believers, adulterers, fornicators and such was gods will. You would feel as if a rapist should marry their children and such.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth right?

You are supposed to still follow the basic rules of the old testament, yet still follow the ones in the new one. You however probably ignore the old testament, and claim to follow Jesus' rules. Well then I hope you don't accept homosexuals or associate with non-believers, or go to court with non-believers as the judge of your issues. Blah blah. Your morals are distorted and inconsistent.

We however, base our morals on common sense and reason. If we all cooperate with each other, the world will be a better place. If I hurt you, you would hurt me, so why would I hurt you?

Answer 4

This is actually several questions.

Consciousness is actually our learned ability to move beyond obeying instincts. Our social heritage has moved far beyond our evolved bodies and brains.
Though our brains are hard-wired to learn complex functions like language we still require being nurtured for years by parents and a community otherwise we really would not be much different than animal. We have adapted into being a highly social creature: humans have one of the longest gestation (growing in the womb) periods, and arguably the longest nurturing period of any other animal (some adult humans never leave the nest...)

Thankfully cases of abandonment and severe neglect of young children are rare, but there are some accounts of how they turned out (thankfully even fewer cases of purposeful isolation as an experiment). When the children were saved they were hardly better than animals. Most were never able to live in "normal" society at all, they were dependent on the churches or abbeys that took pity on them and took them in for the rest of their short lives.

Those children were not born with morals just as we are not. We learn them from birth -- "at our grandpappy's knee" -- just like our parents did, and their parents did, and their parents, etc. Anytime there is an interruption in the nurturing process(war, catastrophe, plague, etc) the surviving generation is often socially deprived as well as depleted in numbers.

Answer 5

Since humans are social animals and evolved from other social animals they are predisposed to social behavior. That predisposition is built upon by the experience of interaction with others in the clan or tribe. These notions of "right and wrong" are passed down from generation to generation by parents to children. Later, as agriculture led to the development of more populace villages and cities, the "right and wrong" was codified into law. As experience of life in an urban environment grew, the codifications of rules became "laws."

You will probably note, if you examine the sorts of laws in early urban societies, that they are much the same around the world, having been the result of a similar evolutionary process.

And yes, at the risk of your thinking me "wrong" these laws and rules and traditions evolved as the requirements for survival changed with the development of different societal environments.

Answer 6

Wow...

2) There are numerous theories as to why people behave morally, but the overwhelmingly obvious one is that being moral makes life EASIER. If I don't try and steal your fire, I don't have to worry about you stealing mine. If I take care of you when you are injured, I can reasonably expect you to take care of me when I am injured.

Human Intelligence was a trade-off for strength and speed. In a world full of danger and predators, it was extremely advantageous for relatively weak, defenseless creatures like humans to cooperate. Being moral fosters cooperation.

The same is true for certain animals that seem to demonstrate moral (or at least cooperative) behavior. At the risk of anthropomorphizing, dolphins help other sick or injured members, protecting them from predators. They have also protected HUMANS from sharks. What is the survival advantage in this? Did your god instill dolphins with morals?

1) We DO all ATTEMPT to reproduce as soon as we are sexually mature enough. Most cultures discourage sex between eleven year olds, but that doesn't mean they aren't ready (and in most cases, willing and able.)

Of course, if you actually believe god created us out of dirt 6000 years ago, as we are, then this entire explanation is lost on you.

Answer 7

Last to first: as soon as we're mature enough, there definitely is a strong urge to reproduce.

I haven't seen any evidence that points to the existence of God.

Morality ensured the survival of more humans by allowing them to live and work together more effectively, allowing more of them to reproduce.

The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the theory of evolution.

EDIT: or it could be that wars and killing remove the weaker genes from the gene pool. I don't like that thought, but that could be the long-term effect.

Answer 8

Morals are a social structure, a way for humans to codify their behavior so that we can all get along, sharing a somewhat basic standard of behavior.

They're not evolution like reproduction, they are a higher step than that. To some extent, however, they serve the same purpose -- if I'm calm and polite and observant I can get along in any society, those are positive moral values. If I'm rude and obnoxious, there's a chance I'll get myself mugged or killed doing something stupid.

So yes, morals can serve a basic evolutionary purpose -- but that's not their true purpose.

Answer 9

Because it makes you more likely to survive. And come on, don't you think males have exactly that urge? Sexual morals are a lot different. Not all societies agree even closely on them. They are made up to keep social order, not for survival.

Monkeys exhibit morals too. They have drowned trying to save other monkeys in the zoo. They will starve themselves for days rather than pull a lever that gives them food, but shocks another monkey.

Answer 10

Because social groups need such to improve their survival (and so for the individual in the group).

Ape and chimpanzee troups have certain morals they live by, not killing one another, not hurting one another (in the same group), helping others in the group, etc. This improves the survival of all.

The same is true of humans.

All social animals have an evolved set of rules that most live by.