Being able to go beyond our instinctual desires is the main thing that separates humans from animals. Still, I’m sure we all know just how hard it is to overcome our instincts. It’s hard to resist a beautiful woman, for example, and some men can’t (rapists). Still, from nature’s perspective, rape is a perfectly legitimate way of passing on your genes, which explains why there are rapists in the world. Ironically, if all raped women aborted their children perhaps rapists would die out.
So, what magic allows us the ability to judge morals beyond that which nature intended? Some people think it’s religion, but I think it’s our brains. A lion is just doing what comes naturally to him when he kills off all the cubs, but we humans are conscious and we are able to see that death sucks and do our best to avoid it.
Do you want to know where I personally get my morals from?
The Ethic of Reciprocity:
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
I know, I know, it sounds like I’m getting my morality from religion, but I’m not. I just happen to like how it’s phrased. That phrase, or a similar one, shows up in over
21 religions throughout the world. The fact that so many people independently came up with the same moral law implies to me that it comes from our brains rather than some higher being.
The law also just makes sense, plain and simple. I don’t want to be murdered and I don’t want my stuff stolen, and the best way to ensure I live in a murder-free/theft-free world is to not commit murder or theft. It works in reverse with philanthropy, too. If I was down on my luck I would want people to help me out, so in turn I try to help out people who need my help as well.
I want to point out that evolutionary morality is not only the source of good in the world but also the source of evil. Unfortunately, we live in a world where being ruthless and greedy makes you rich and powerful, which in turn makes you attractive to the opposite sex and helps you pass on your genes. This is why there are so many greedy bastards in the world, and why we keep getting into wars and countries keep trying to take over the world.
Lastly, I want to point out that we are still evolving. “Ha ha,” I hear someone cry, “If evolution works as you say it does then why are there still murderers in the world?” People seem to think that we are at the end, that millions of years of evolution have finally culminated in the perfect being: humans. It’s not the end. Who knows what we will evolve into a million years from now.
We all have to take it upon ourselves to ensure that in the future we pay more attention to our brains rather than our instincts.