Origins of Morality

[joeactor]

I wasn't quite sure if I should post this here, or in Science...

Here's an interesting article:
Morality: where it came from, where it gets us

I found this quote to be most fascinating (esp. point 2):

Ev­o­lu­tion­ary, neu­ro­lo­g­i­cal and social-psy­cho­log­i­cal in­sights are con­verg­ing on an ac­count of mor­al rea­son­ing based on three prin­ci­ples, Haidt claimed:

    *      Emo­tions and gut feel­ings gen­er­al­ly drive our mor­al judg­ments.
    *      We en­gage in mor­al rea­son­ing not to learn the truth, but to win oth­ers over to our view­point.
    *      Mo­ral­i­ty was cru­cial for the ev­o­lu­tion of hu­man ultra-sociality, which lets us live in large, high­ly co­op­er­a­tive groups. Gos­sip was al­so cru­cial; it’s the ve­hi­cle through which we seek to win over oth­ers, again us­ing mor­al rea­son­ing.

Discuss?
JoeActor

[McQ]

I wasn't quite sure if I should post this here, or in Science...

Here's an interesting article:
Morality: where it came from, where it gets us

I found this quote to be most fascinating (esp. point 2):

Ev­o­lu­tion­ary, neu­ro­lo­g­i­cal and social-psy­cho­log­i­cal in­sights are con­verg­ing on an ac­count of mor­al rea­son­ing based on three prin­ci­ples, Haidt claimed:

    *      Emo­tions and gut feel­ings gen­er­al­ly drive our mor­al judg­ments.
    *      We en­gage in mor­al rea­son­ing not to learn the truth, but to win oth­ers over to our view­point.
    *      Mo­ral­i­ty was cru­cial for the ev­o­lu­tion of hu­man ultra-sociality, which lets us live in large, high­ly co­op­er­a­tive groups. Gos­sip was al­so cru­cial; it's the ve­hi­cle through which we seek to win over oth­ers, again us­ing mor­al rea­son­ing.

Discuss?
JoeActor

I'd like to see the original paper. That would be interesting to read. This is a fascinating subject as a whole. A book I finished recently (Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea) touches on this subject.

Thanks for putting this in here, Joe.

[joeactor]

My pleasure McQ...

Have you ever read the Hybrids/Humans/Hominids series of Sci-Fi?
There are some very interesting societal ideas in that one...

JoeActor

[SteveS]

Heh, this last one:

Gos­sip was al­so cru­cial; it’s the ve­hi­cle through which we seek to win over oth­ers, again us­ing mor­al rea­son­ing.

seems particularly true....





....especially if the individual in question is female    !

(only joking, of course  :wink:  )

[McQ]

My pleasure McQ...

Have you ever read the Hybrids/Humans/Hominids series of Sci-Fi?
There are some very interesting societal ideas in that one...

JoeActor

No, I haven't read the series. But now I'm curious. I guess this means a stop at Barnes and Noble tomorrow! Thanks!
 

[joeactor]

Have you ever read the Hybrids/Humans/Hominids series of Sci-Fi?
There are some very interesting societal ideas in that one...
JoeActor

No, I haven't read the series. But now I'm curious. I guess this means a stop at Barnes and Noble tomorrow! Thanks!

The author is Robert J. Sawyer.

There's a Neanderthal culture in the books with an amazing social structure...

[Zatarra]

Has anyone read 'Emotinal Intelligence" by Goleman or something like that? As I interpreted it, doing something you feel is 'right' when it's not in your interest is no more than 'emotional weakness' if you will. That is, an inability to control your emotions, and no more noble or admirable than not being able to step into a dark room for fear of what could be in there or yelling when you lose your temper.

So yeah, after reading that book I've believed almost exactly what's contained in your first post. Without a conscience/emotions, we would never perform 'altruistic' acts, never put someone elses interests before our own, which would lead to a breakdown of society. I've come across a quote by Nietsche: "morality is man's herd instinct". Maybe he was talking about something completely different, but I think he was talking about what I'm talking about. Morality is 'social glue' I suppose.