If there were no morals or social laws by which one had to abide, would the conscience be present?

Question

Two other questions. Do you think/believe that: 1. A person can live without morality 2. Morality gave birth to societies(The "I don't like how something is run, so I'll start something new" mentality).

So basically, are we born with a tendency to be moral(not with them). If so, did we create societies to help us live out our ideas about how we believe things should be.

(My wording on this is kind of bad so it might change as I think of how to better express what I'm thinking)

Answer 1

The conscience would likely be formed because of two things:

- human brains always look for patterns - we want to have control over our environment
- the human psyche always tends towards stability and security - we want to feel safe

This would result in the creation of rules, morals and even the development of conscience to ensure that the above would be satisfied.

Two other answers: 1. People would not feel safe without morality. 2. Morality definitely has the potential to renew current societies or develop new societies.

Sometimes we create, but sometimes we also follow.

Answer 2

If there were no morals or social laws then very few, if any, people would still have a conscience. The problem being what would be there to stop people from killing each other if no laws existed? Nothing. So what would keep anyone from indiscriminately murdering someone else just to possess their property? Nothing. Society without any government at it's head would be chaos.

1. Yes a person can live without morality. Just look at any criminal or person suffering from anti social personality disorder.

2. I think it is interactionary. People created societies in order to push their own brand of morality making for a more orderly existence. Yet people came up with morals in order to govern societies as a whole.

I don't think that our senses of right and wrong are innate. They are taught to us by our parents. This is evidenced by that fact that most children end up being in the same political party as one or both of their parents.

Answer 3

1.a person can live without morality many people do but they will probably not live a happy existence but on the other hand if a person had no concept of morality then they could.
2.we are born amoral with no concept of it but i belive human nature in its very essence is alturistic were social creatues and depend on each other to survive so i would say morality is instinctive on some levels as a survival instinct like knowing murder is wrong but on others it differs from one society to the next.

My friend told me this story about an undisocvered tribe in south america and they had no word for hate wouldnt that be good!!!

just for the record i didnt say all wright or wrongs were inate i said on some levels meaning the very basics of morality the foundations not arbitary morals in society. You just need to look at our cousins chimpanzes/apes and their society/tribes for empathy affection and you can see how its developed in evolution.

heres an quote thay can explain it alot better than me click the link also

"Though human morality may end in notions of rights and justice and fine ethical distinctions, it begins, Dr. de Waal says, in concern for others and the understanding of social rules as to how they should be treated. At this lower level, primatologists have shown, there is what they consider to be a sizable overlap between the behavior of people and other social primates"

Answer 4

Morality comes from humans living in society, society grew from the needs of a growing group of individuals concentrated for survival. One must function in those societal mores but should keep their personal beliefs and behaviors as well.

Answer 5

Yes, there would still be ethics although not necessarily what is defined as traditional moral values.

There are documented cases of feral children who had no contact with other humans. They were not taught language, or human concepts like religion. They were not out killing and maiming. It is the educated and religious of us who do that. They were not out robbing and mugging. It is the civilized folks that do that.

A feral child would probably steal if hungry, but only to eat, never with the greed and selfishness that we civilized folks do. A feral child might kill if there was an immediate danger to their life, but not on the order of sociopaths and psychopaths who are often religious to begin with.

A good number of species don't kill their own. We do.

Answer 6

We have a natural capacity to imagine ourselves in the place of others. This is the basis of the feelings of empathy and sympathy. Society uses that natural capacity to manipulate us. Society is always trying to hone our feelings.

We also have a natural love for praise and society uses that love of praise to shape our behavior. From infancy we are praised for acceptable behavior and scolded for unacceptable behavior.

That is the sum total of human morality from a natural perspective.

Answer 7

the highest moral is true (!) happyness. this is nothing you can buy or consume in any possible way. this is the nature of the soul. as a surrogate we invent different, sophisticated systems and theories of good and evil. but happyness is just, what it is, neither good nor evil.
but there are things that work out, others don´t.
why?
because the universe is one and a whole. you cannot ruin others without ruining yourselve. and you also cannot help others without helping youself, too.