RE: Question for Atheists
December 9, 2010 at 7:16 am
(This post was last modified: December 9, 2010 at 7:21 am by Justtristo.)
(December 9, 2010 at 6:28 am)16three-john Wrote: Hey, I'm a christian who's simply just wondering what atheists think about the subject of morality. I'm not gonna twist ur answers and try to preach at you or anything, so please don't be defensive or anything. It's just that I have been thinking about morality, and I wonder where atheists believe that their moral values originate from?
Altruistic behavior has been observed in various animals, which makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. If you are interested in this topic, I would recommend an article which was published in a issue of Nature Magazine (30 June 2006).
Since humans are another species of animal, we are programmed to behave altruistically towards family members and friends, which was everybody in the small bands of paleolithic societies.
With the invention of agriculture and the development of more complex societies, moral systems developed to advocate altruistic behavior towards people who weren't family members and friends. Eventually developing to the "universal love" concept common to a lot of religions.
I hoped that answered your question.
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