Nice primer on evolutionary origins of morality. TED talk by Frans de Waal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcJxRqTs5nk
I also recommend his book Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved. In this book, de Waal gives an overview of his argument. What I like is that Part II contains almost 80 pages of rebuttal (including one from Peter Singer). Worth the time in my opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/Primates-Philosoph...bc?ie=UTF8
That deals with potential origins. The next step is attempt to understand what humans have done with morality after developing the ability of abstract thought. For that, a little philosophy is in order. These links are a nice summation of the prevailing ethical systems:
Deontological ethics - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Consequentialism - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/
Virtue Ethics - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcJxRqTs5nk
I also recommend his book Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved. In this book, de Waal gives an overview of his argument. What I like is that Part II contains almost 80 pages of rebuttal (including one from Peter Singer). Worth the time in my opinion.
http://www.amazon.com/Primates-Philosoph...bc?ie=UTF8
That deals with potential origins. The next step is attempt to understand what humans have done with morality after developing the ability of abstract thought. For that, a little philosophy is in order. These links are a nice summation of the prevailing ethical systems:
Deontological ethics - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Consequentialism - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/
Virtue Ethics - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/
