Another salvaged Quora post. Morals without Gods
Morals without Gods
There has been a lot of discussion on Quora about what makes people behave in a moral and ethical way. Theists claim that religion provides a moral compass and that without religion there would be no reason to behave in a moral or ethical way. Many of the responses by atheists have been unconvincing. I think a moral compass is a logical consequence of evolution.
Let us begin with a species which has no morals. Each individual is concerned only with him/herself. Parents do not look after children, children will turn on their parents when they become strong enough. This species cannot compete with a species where parents look after their children and becomes extinct, simply because less offspring grow to adulthood.
Now we have a species which has individuals who do cooperate and care for immediate family. However, more distant relatives are still enemies and rivals. They do not compete effectively against a "herd" species where large numbers of individuals help each other. They are more effectively able to protect the young ones and as their numbers grow, so those of the "family" species decline and evolution continues. We are now at the level of elephants and zebras, animals who sometimes seem more civilized than humans.
The next level, of course, is when the herd grows to encompass the entire species across the planet. Everyone cooperates to do what is best for the species. This should be the level at which humans could have been but there seems to be twist in our psyche which makes it difficult for us to cooperate on a global scale but hopefully we'll get there.
Obviously, even global cooperation does not guarantee survival indefinitely. If nothing else, our population would grow beyond our resources if we do not control it. So it makes sense to control the population and stop destroying natural resources and learn to live in harmony with the planet. We have not yet shown the ability to reach this level but there are signs that at least individual members of the species are becoming aware of the next step.
The progression from looking after yourself to looking after your family to looking after your herd/ city/ country to looking after your species to looking after your planet is a natural process of evolution. Religion is not required.
Let us begin with a species which has no morals. Each individual is concerned only with him/herself. Parents do not look after children, children will turn on their parents when they become strong enough. This species cannot compete with a species where parents look after their children and becomes extinct, simply because less offspring grow to adulthood.
Now we have a species which has individuals who do cooperate and care for immediate family. However, more distant relatives are still enemies and rivals. They do not compete effectively against a "herd" species where large numbers of individuals help each other. They are more effectively able to protect the young ones and as their numbers grow, so those of the "family" species decline and evolution continues. We are now at the level of elephants and zebras, animals who sometimes seem more civilized than humans.
The next level, of course, is when the herd grows to encompass the entire species across the planet. Everyone cooperates to do what is best for the species. This should be the level at which humans could have been but there seems to be twist in our psyche which makes it difficult for us to cooperate on a global scale but hopefully we'll get there.
Obviously, even global cooperation does not guarantee survival indefinitely. If nothing else, our population would grow beyond our resources if we do not control it. So it makes sense to control the population and stop destroying natural resources and learn to live in harmony with the planet. We have not yet shown the ability to reach this level but there are signs that at least individual members of the species are becoming aware of the next step.
The progression from looking after yourself to looking after your family to looking after your herd/ city/ country to looking after your species to looking after your planet is a natural process of evolution. Religion is not required.
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