Where do we get morals from?

Question

Many people say they get their sense of morality from religion. But pretty much everyone, regardless of religion, has a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Where do we get these "universal truths" from? Is it purely instinctual, a born trait that helps us determine whether something is good or bad for us? or does it come from something greater?

Answer 1

From God. He gave them to all of us. Some of us just want to give the credit for themselves or for the society or their mother.

Answer 2

I think morals comes from cultural inheritance. And that cultural inheritance comes from people who used to be the elite leaders of society, who have the power to say what is right and wrong for the benefits to the whole of society (or in some cases to make society more easier to control by having everyone live under a set of rules). The main guideline is the rule of right are acts that makes the whole of society better while the rule of wrong if done, is detrimental to society.

Any individual who wants what is best for themselves in the long run should do more right than wrong. because, if they are nice or help others in the short run, in the long run, they will get happiess and help when they need it. Those who do wrong might get what they want in the short run, but in the long run, they either destroy society's trust on them, or people will just ignore them when they need help.

a set of morals, is basically filtered through generations after generations. it will differ from culture to culture too because the individuals who make the decision of what is moral might not only hold different views, but they might be deluded in what is actually the real moral truth (eg. ego will stop others from telling the leaders what is wrong and not working) In the long run however, after a long stream of contemplative thoughts upon the same moral values, it becomes more refined. What is working will be kept as universal truths, while those that are proven wrong will be discarded and replaced.

If you look across cultures and religions of today, if you look deep enough, you will find large similarities in what their culture is trying to achieve.

Answer 3

I am really envious of you for asking this question - I like questions like this, and if I'd thought of it, I would definitely have asked it on here, although I don't think I would have put it in the catagory that you've chosen - interesting nickname aswell - I see you haven't completed an About me profile yet and am confused as to how you joined this site over a year ago and use it regularly but only have 104 points - how come?

Anyway back to you question - I always feel less is more and
ant0ni7's answer is both precise and succinct - OURSELVES. The interesting question that logically flows from this deduction is WHY? I feel this is especially the case, when our very evolution seems to stem from as Darwin explained - Natural Selection - survival of the fittest etc.,!

Along with where do we get morals from - you could ask like I have in previous questions - why are we self-aware, sentient - where does humour come from etc., etc.,

I know that ant0ni7 is right, although in fairness, he didn't go on to say as much like some of the other answerers, it doesn't come from upbringing or social pressure or anything as mundane and shallow as that, although that's not to say they can't help - it really comes from ourselves, from deep within our psyche - it is apart of what we are - if we could answer this question and the others I've mentioned, I feel absolutely certain that we would also have the answer to the biggest question of all - namely WHY ARE WE HERE?

Answer 4

Morals existed long before religions, and exist in other species.

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Why Christians Must Steal From Secular Morality:
http://www.caseagainstfaith.com/submissions/steal_morality.htm
Christians must steal their moral rules from secular morality. They have no choice, as the Bible does not offer a moral system, it only offers a series of contradictory commands and a supposed threat of punishment in the "afterlife" for not following them - a punishment that is given equally to all violators - whatever the sin.

The Bible does nothing and can do nothing towards inculcating moral behavior on its own. Christians must steal from secular moral systems, and then merely graft their 'God threats' on top of this moral system. This is necessary. And the reason for this is simple: there is no morality in the Bible and there can be no morality in the Bible, because the Bible holds that 1) ALL 'sins' are equivalent (destroying any moral sense) AND 2) all moral behavior is immaterial, because works cannot save a person, AND finally all people are damned from birth.

In reality, Christians realize that some actions are more moral than others. They realize that moral actions exist in a hierarchy, and that rape is far worse than stealing a pencil. Yet the Bible holds that all 'sins' are equal, as all deserve the same punishment.

Christians also realize that humans can be moral agents... they expect moral behavior from others, and they view their own children as something to value. Yet the Bible holds that man is worthless, that he cannot be a moral agent, and that his sole salvation comes from grace. However, since Christians realize, implicitly, that all of these these points are obviously, prima facie false, they must steal from secular systems, that hold that 1) man obviously has a value 2) all 'sins' are obviously not equivalent and 3) a person cannot be held to be doing anything 'immoral' without intent.

* * *

Origin of the 10 commandments:
http://www.atheistalliance.org/outreach/news-2002_spring.php
http://www.rationalrevolution.net/articles/ten_commandments.htm

Morality Without God:
http://www.atheists.org/Atheism/cohen.html

Morals Without Gods:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=sharris_26_3

Answer 5

Some of the latest brain research indicates that we are "pre-wired" for social interaction and living in groups and that we are even wired for "altruism." These traits seem to be good strategies for survival of our species. However, the nature-nurture debate will always rage on and currently most psychologists and scientist think nature is the greater part of the equation but we are shaped by our experiences also. And, I wouldn't discount the possibility of some spiritual quality that helps us with knowing right from wrong and connecting us with each other. There is no simple answer to this question but it's interesting to think about. This question is also closely related to the debate about free will vs determinism. Lots of books have been written on this subject. Good luck.

Answer 6

A lot of it is genetic. People who behaved really outrageously tended to die young and leave few children.
This means that the genotypes that acted like they were "moral" became the majority in the population.
Because our legal systems actually protect the thieves and other criminals from being hunted down and killed combined with the fact that the general population is large enough for them to have a continuous supply of suckers you can expect gross immorality and corruption to increase.

Answer 7

Generally, we're taught morals. Whether from an institution (school, military, etc), parents or from a Synagogue, Church or Mosque. We may even learned them from history although we haven't been very good at that at times.These things are the very foundations of where we learn or don't learn morals.

Answer 8

From many sources.
Some from religion--those that tell us what's right and what's wrong (sometimes more than we want to hear).
Some from the mores and standards of society and its traditions.
But we seem able to sense that there are things that are intrinsically right--like courage, generosity, kindness--and things that are intrinsically evil like the slaughter of innocent children or cruelty to animals. These are instinctual, intuitive, but very real.
And, yes, I believe they come from God.
Was that a loaded question?

Answer 9

If you are "of God", He has written them on your heart. The Holy Spirit will give you a sense of conviction or regret when you have sinned against God. The original laws were written on the tablets and given to Moses. When God established the New Covenant in Jesus Christ dieing for our sins, He (God) said that His laws would be written on their hearts. This is why some people have absolutely no sense of right and wrong, these people belong to the prince of the air.

Answer 10

Humans are social animals... They need each other... so Its just common sense to respect others and have an instinctual ethical behavior.

Answer 11

I'm going with parents. They are supposed to be the ones that teach you right from wrong and give you that sense of morals.