Morality, like free-will, are mere concepts created within our human minds. I will be using the word "choose" but to be clear, I support that free-will is an illusion.
Early man had finite choices for how to survive... Or die. We do also but we are too complex for this discussion since we have technology and what not. Let's call this primitive man Joe.
joe is among the first of his human kind. Joe is just like us. He has a frail body, lacks fangs and big claws and all that stuff. However of course, he has a powerful brain.
Joe does not suddenly have "morals" which dictate his life. He makes observations and chooses what to do next based off of them.
If joe lives alone, he likely will do anything he can to survive such as lie cheat steal and kill because nobody is helping him and thus his life is very difficult. He does not see any value whatsoever in helping other humans. If he even approaches a group of humans, they may be violent towards him, further discouraging him.
If joe is smaller/weaker than average, he will likely die and thus not teach his way of life to the next generation. This is one way that the lack of "innate morality" died out.
If joe were larger/stronger/smarter than average, he will likely fair better than the average even if he is alone. Since death does not take him prematurely, he has a wider opportunity to join a group. Also he may attract other lone travelers(such as women, wink wink) and eventually create his own group.
Now he can learn to value relationships. If he values them, he will want to preserve them. As he protects them, they in turn value him and reciprocate protection. at this point, new concepts begin brewing in his mind. If he says, "hey you go over there and pick berries, it's safe" (a lie) and the person is eaten by a lion, joe will learn from it. Basically, anything that makes survival harder is BAD.
Steal my sharp rock=BAD
kill me=BAD
Lie to me=BAD
Etc. etc.
Joe says I don't want these things done to me or the people I depend on. The group decides not to do these bad things. They function better than the average group and increase their chances for survival. The next generation will learn how being "moral" is overwhelmingly helpful.
Acting upon Morality is not evolved in that it is innate. We know we can either be nice or be mean, that IS innate. When we have clear logical reasons for being moral, we will gravitate towards morality. the thing that breaks us away from logical morality is an external authority. Most often the external authority is a GOD.
Early man had finite choices for how to survive... Or die. We do also but we are too complex for this discussion since we have technology and what not. Let's call this primitive man Joe.
joe is among the first of his human kind. Joe is just like us. He has a frail body, lacks fangs and big claws and all that stuff. However of course, he has a powerful brain.
Joe does not suddenly have "morals" which dictate his life. He makes observations and chooses what to do next based off of them.
If joe lives alone, he likely will do anything he can to survive such as lie cheat steal and kill because nobody is helping him and thus his life is very difficult. He does not see any value whatsoever in helping other humans. If he even approaches a group of humans, they may be violent towards him, further discouraging him.
If joe is smaller/weaker than average, he will likely die and thus not teach his way of life to the next generation. This is one way that the lack of "innate morality" died out.
If joe were larger/stronger/smarter than average, he will likely fair better than the average even if he is alone. Since death does not take him prematurely, he has a wider opportunity to join a group. Also he may attract other lone travelers(such as women, wink wink) and eventually create his own group.
Now he can learn to value relationships. If he values them, he will want to preserve them. As he protects them, they in turn value him and reciprocate protection. at this point, new concepts begin brewing in his mind. If he says, "hey you go over there and pick berries, it's safe" (a lie) and the person is eaten by a lion, joe will learn from it. Basically, anything that makes survival harder is BAD.
Steal my sharp rock=BAD
kill me=BAD
Lie to me=BAD
Etc. etc.
Joe says I don't want these things done to me or the people I depend on. The group decides not to do these bad things. They function better than the average group and increase their chances for survival. The next generation will learn how being "moral" is overwhelmingly helpful.
Acting upon Morality is not evolved in that it is innate. We know we can either be nice or be mean, that IS innate. When we have clear logical reasons for being moral, we will gravitate towards morality. the thing that breaks us away from logical morality is an external authority. Most often the external authority is a GOD.
