BSFilter
06-04-06, 03:22 PM
Heres a Paper I wrote last semester for a philosophy course. I have not cited any references but if you really want to know I can find the source. Its sorta a combination of many of the threads that have appeared here on the sciforums.
Morals in the Absence of a God
Christianity is considered a “revealed” religion; that is God took it upon himself to reveal His existence and teachings to man. Other revealed religions include Judaism and Islam. In all these religions God left behind some sort of scripture that was to be worshipped and followed. In all of these scriptures you will find rules laid down by God concerning basic ethic principles, such as Judaism’s sixth commandment, “Though shall not murder” or oppositely one of the 613 Quran commandments, “"Fight those who do not believe in Allah…” Are we to believe that humans would not have developed morality structures without the aid of a God; having no way of being able to decide what is right and wrong? Morality is a product of any social animal’s environment. I believe basic moral principles would have developed in humans without any religion at all, as it did in all other socialized animals.
In nature, there are two basic rules; find a way to live, or die. Life for any solitary creature is a harsh one indeed. Throughout the development of life, creatures figured out the influence of “power in numbers.” Fish figured out that swimming in a school greatly increased individual protection while ants have thrived not on size but purely on numbers alone. Alternatively, some of the oldest and most antisocial creatures on Earth such as the crocodile and the shark abandon their young from day one, and some crocodiles will eat their own offspring if they wander too near. There is a mutual benefit gained for all animals in a group, it would not make sense for one fish to kill another for food, for it would only be increasing the chance that itself would be eaten by an attacking predator. Here is a very simple example of a creature realizing that killing another in his group is not a beneficial thing to do, without a revelation from God.
In none of the scriptures left behind by any religion does God make mention of giving these same ethical rules to animals, although some do address animal’s creation (even if swiftly). Nowhere are there stories of this divine knowledge of right and wrong being passed to animals as well, for humans are favored solely for eternal life (whether in paradise or hell) above all other creatures. Was then this knowledge of morality instilled directly into animals by His will, while humans needed guidelines and rules to set a path? It is not all animals that show indications of moral values; it is particularly animals that have developed complex social groups they depend on to survive. The very intelligent and social elephant depends on the eldest female in the group to lead them, which is strikingly similar to “Thou shall honor your father and your mother…” Some animals observe the same basic ethical principles as humans, without any mention of a revelation to animals in any of the scriptures.
Some may not consider one member of a group not killing another as a true sign of moral values. Let’s take it one step further and discuss altruism. In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behavior benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself. Biological altruism is different than altruism applied to humans alone. Biological altruism is apparent through out the animal kingdom, but it is most noticeable in animals with complex social structures. For example vampire bats regularly regurgitate blood for members of the cave which did not feed that night ensuring they do not starve. A parallel to this would be any human who donates food to needy individuals, such as the homeless who have trouble getting food on their own.
Altruism can also be seen in creatures which we consider to not have any conscience thoughts at all, mainly colonizing insects. In such cases, sterile workers devote their entire life to caring and protecting the nest, larvae, and most importantly the queen. Such actions are supremely altruistic, for these workers leave NO offspring of their own but do great amounts for the propagation of the colony as a whole. A creature devoid of conscience thought is devoting itself entirely to a specific purpose, with no thoughts inclined to self benefit. Perhaps it is this lack of thought that allows this to happen. Humans could never achieve altruistic behavior on this level for our own self-interests would conflict with that of the group. Using insects as an example, one may deduce that the perception of self (which only a few other creatures share along side humans) hinders altruistic behavior.
For any reasonably intelligent social group of animals, you will also have the members which benefit from the altruism of other members, while contributing nothing of their own. Vervet monkeys have alarm calls to warn every member of the group of approaching predators. Monkeys who give the alarm put themselves at more risk by exposing their position, but increase the safety of the group. Conversely, monkeys who do not give an alarm call increase their own chances of survival while decreasing the safety of the group. This could be interpreted as the most primitive form of lying because it is the absence of communication which gives the false that impression that everything is safe.
Deception is crucial to human’s creation of good and evil. It was the snake who deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, who then gave some to Adam. Evil does not exist in nature without humans directly applying it. One animal killing another for food is not evil, it is necessary for survival. Two lions battling over a territory and its females where one male lies dead in the end (murder), is not evil, it is necessary for propagation of his genes. Necessity dictates what action to take; our actions only reflect what we need. Once we have what we need our actions reflect what we want. So for different cultures with different needs to develop different ethical values is normal.
Man’s exponential dominance of the planet Earth can be attributed only to our intelligence. We are not the strongest, fastest, or most agile animal ever to exist. We are the most adaptable, which derives from our intelligence. Never has a single species before us been able to survive in harshest environments on Earth including the artic, tropics, wetlands, deserts, or even at sea without a major change in physiology (over along period of time). Our ingenuity is credited for these feats.
Ancient scriptures deal not with science, math, agriculture, or astronomy as we know it today. Most scriptures serve as guidelines for teaching humans how to live with each other (whether peaceful or violent), presented through stories which are easy to identify with. Humans tentatively built scientific foundations from the ground up. These lessons were not revealed to us as simply as the 10 commandments were. Yet many of the necessary backbones of civilization as we know it today are based on engineering capable through math and science, which were not apart of any revelation given to man by God. It is not such a stretch then to consider that humans would have developed moral values without the aid of a revelation or prophet.
What these scriptures do provide is a universal rulebook that spans generations and cultures, which almost anyone can relate to. In our history, these teachings were used to bridge the gaps between different cultures under a common set of “rules to live by”. With many of the commandments of the Christian/Jewish religion hitting so close to many of the altruistic behaviors described in this paper, it is easy to see why these religions are so widely accepted. Statements such as “Thou shall not murder” and "Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (or you shall not lie) are observations taken from nature with human conscience/emotion applied to them. Jesus’, Moses’ and even Mohammed’s actions in life were truly altruistic in essence, which may be why they are considered the backbones of their respective religions.
What humans consider moral behavior existed in animals well before any religion wrote them down in scriptures. It is helpful to keep in mind that the species of homosapien has only been present about 100,000 years in the 4 million plus years that the Earth has existed. Religion is thought to have originated about 3,700 years ago. It is absurd to think that without a message from God that human’s would not have developed ethical values that we base our many distinctive societies on. So then the question remains, what exactly was the purpose of God revealing His will to man through written rules He already infixed in all other creatures? Whatever the message, it is apparent through the many different sects and values of monotheist religions that His directive was not very clear. Yet despite our differences across cultures and religions, we all share a sense of basic ethical principles common to all man-kind (even if we forget/ignore them sometimes).
Morals in the Absence of a God
Christianity is considered a “revealed” religion; that is God took it upon himself to reveal His existence and teachings to man. Other revealed religions include Judaism and Islam. In all these religions God left behind some sort of scripture that was to be worshipped and followed. In all of these scriptures you will find rules laid down by God concerning basic ethic principles, such as Judaism’s sixth commandment, “Though shall not murder” or oppositely one of the 613 Quran commandments, “"Fight those who do not believe in Allah…” Are we to believe that humans would not have developed morality structures without the aid of a God; having no way of being able to decide what is right and wrong? Morality is a product of any social animal’s environment. I believe basic moral principles would have developed in humans without any religion at all, as it did in all other socialized animals.
In nature, there are two basic rules; find a way to live, or die. Life for any solitary creature is a harsh one indeed. Throughout the development of life, creatures figured out the influence of “power in numbers.” Fish figured out that swimming in a school greatly increased individual protection while ants have thrived not on size but purely on numbers alone. Alternatively, some of the oldest and most antisocial creatures on Earth such as the crocodile and the shark abandon their young from day one, and some crocodiles will eat their own offspring if they wander too near. There is a mutual benefit gained for all animals in a group, it would not make sense for one fish to kill another for food, for it would only be increasing the chance that itself would be eaten by an attacking predator. Here is a very simple example of a creature realizing that killing another in his group is not a beneficial thing to do, without a revelation from God.
In none of the scriptures left behind by any religion does God make mention of giving these same ethical rules to animals, although some do address animal’s creation (even if swiftly). Nowhere are there stories of this divine knowledge of right and wrong being passed to animals as well, for humans are favored solely for eternal life (whether in paradise or hell) above all other creatures. Was then this knowledge of morality instilled directly into animals by His will, while humans needed guidelines and rules to set a path? It is not all animals that show indications of moral values; it is particularly animals that have developed complex social groups they depend on to survive. The very intelligent and social elephant depends on the eldest female in the group to lead them, which is strikingly similar to “Thou shall honor your father and your mother…” Some animals observe the same basic ethical principles as humans, without any mention of a revelation to animals in any of the scriptures.
Some may not consider one member of a group not killing another as a true sign of moral values. Let’s take it one step further and discuss altruism. In evolutionary biology, an organism is said to behave altruistically when its behavior benefits other organisms, at a cost to itself. Biological altruism is different than altruism applied to humans alone. Biological altruism is apparent through out the animal kingdom, but it is most noticeable in animals with complex social structures. For example vampire bats regularly regurgitate blood for members of the cave which did not feed that night ensuring they do not starve. A parallel to this would be any human who donates food to needy individuals, such as the homeless who have trouble getting food on their own.
Altruism can also be seen in creatures which we consider to not have any conscience thoughts at all, mainly colonizing insects. In such cases, sterile workers devote their entire life to caring and protecting the nest, larvae, and most importantly the queen. Such actions are supremely altruistic, for these workers leave NO offspring of their own but do great amounts for the propagation of the colony as a whole. A creature devoid of conscience thought is devoting itself entirely to a specific purpose, with no thoughts inclined to self benefit. Perhaps it is this lack of thought that allows this to happen. Humans could never achieve altruistic behavior on this level for our own self-interests would conflict with that of the group. Using insects as an example, one may deduce that the perception of self (which only a few other creatures share along side humans) hinders altruistic behavior.
For any reasonably intelligent social group of animals, you will also have the members which benefit from the altruism of other members, while contributing nothing of their own. Vervet monkeys have alarm calls to warn every member of the group of approaching predators. Monkeys who give the alarm put themselves at more risk by exposing their position, but increase the safety of the group. Conversely, monkeys who do not give an alarm call increase their own chances of survival while decreasing the safety of the group. This could be interpreted as the most primitive form of lying because it is the absence of communication which gives the false that impression that everything is safe.
Deception is crucial to human’s creation of good and evil. It was the snake who deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, who then gave some to Adam. Evil does not exist in nature without humans directly applying it. One animal killing another for food is not evil, it is necessary for survival. Two lions battling over a territory and its females where one male lies dead in the end (murder), is not evil, it is necessary for propagation of his genes. Necessity dictates what action to take; our actions only reflect what we need. Once we have what we need our actions reflect what we want. So for different cultures with different needs to develop different ethical values is normal.
Man’s exponential dominance of the planet Earth can be attributed only to our intelligence. We are not the strongest, fastest, or most agile animal ever to exist. We are the most adaptable, which derives from our intelligence. Never has a single species before us been able to survive in harshest environments on Earth including the artic, tropics, wetlands, deserts, or even at sea without a major change in physiology (over along period of time). Our ingenuity is credited for these feats.
Ancient scriptures deal not with science, math, agriculture, or astronomy as we know it today. Most scriptures serve as guidelines for teaching humans how to live with each other (whether peaceful or violent), presented through stories which are easy to identify with. Humans tentatively built scientific foundations from the ground up. These lessons were not revealed to us as simply as the 10 commandments were. Yet many of the necessary backbones of civilization as we know it today are based on engineering capable through math and science, which were not apart of any revelation given to man by God. It is not such a stretch then to consider that humans would have developed moral values without the aid of a revelation or prophet.
What these scriptures do provide is a universal rulebook that spans generations and cultures, which almost anyone can relate to. In our history, these teachings were used to bridge the gaps between different cultures under a common set of “rules to live by”. With many of the commandments of the Christian/Jewish religion hitting so close to many of the altruistic behaviors described in this paper, it is easy to see why these religions are so widely accepted. Statements such as “Thou shall not murder” and "Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (or you shall not lie) are observations taken from nature with human conscience/emotion applied to them. Jesus’, Moses’ and even Mohammed’s actions in life were truly altruistic in essence, which may be why they are considered the backbones of their respective religions.
What humans consider moral behavior existed in animals well before any religion wrote them down in scriptures. It is helpful to keep in mind that the species of homosapien has only been present about 100,000 years in the 4 million plus years that the Earth has existed. Religion is thought to have originated about 3,700 years ago. It is absurd to think that without a message from God that human’s would not have developed ethical values that we base our many distinctive societies on. So then the question remains, what exactly was the purpose of God revealing His will to man through written rules He already infixed in all other creatures? Whatever the message, it is apparent through the many different sects and values of monotheist religions that His directive was not very clear. Yet despite our differences across cultures and religions, we all share a sense of basic ethical principles common to all man-kind (even if we forget/ignore them sometimes).