And excuses to kill other human beings outside your circle have been made by every religion. Even in Hinduism and Buddhism. If there were a perfectly peaceful religion we could expect to see a geographical location with no record of violence ever. The fact is there has never been a point in our species history where violence did not exist.
Our species morality is in our evolution. Our ability to be cruel or compassionate is in our evolution. Not old holy writings or holy people. Those are things humans have invented to explain why good and bad exist.
Every religion can and does produce concepts of kindness and beauty in artwork and in historical monuments to those figures and societies. But it is not coming from those things magically, it is our species projecting our own attributes into those words and objects.
There is not one nation, friend or foe alike that does not have hospitals or prisons. That says to me our ideas of morality while different as IDEAS don't change the reality of where our morality really is coming from.
Our ability to harm or cooperate is evolutionary just like other mammals. I just watched a PBS nature documentary about American bison and coyotes hunting their caffs. From the bison's perspective the attack on their young is a threat, to the coyote it sees a food source not only to feed itself, but also it's pups.
It is also why we know elephants mourn their dead, why our cats and dogs lick us and snuggle up to us and love us. It is why some dogs will protect an owner or kid. THAT is where morality comes from, not old myths or holy people. No, it is not comforting, but it is reality. To me personally I find that comforting, not in a utopia sense, no. But in the aspect it is amazing that it even happens.
There are very violent aspects of biological life just as there are very violent forces like a black hole. But there is tons of beauty in nature just as a calm night time sky. The crisp view of the stars at night still does not make space itself a good place for humans to live. Just like we might find an elephant nice to look at, I would fuck with a wild one in musk.
Our species morality is in our evolution. Our ability to be cruel or compassionate is in our evolution. Not old holy writings or holy people. Those are things humans have invented to explain why good and bad exist.
Every religion can and does produce concepts of kindness and beauty in artwork and in historical monuments to those figures and societies. But it is not coming from those things magically, it is our species projecting our own attributes into those words and objects.
There is not one nation, friend or foe alike that does not have hospitals or prisons. That says to me our ideas of morality while different as IDEAS don't change the reality of where our morality really is coming from.
Our ability to harm or cooperate is evolutionary just like other mammals. I just watched a PBS nature documentary about American bison and coyotes hunting their caffs. From the bison's perspective the attack on their young is a threat, to the coyote it sees a food source not only to feed itself, but also it's pups.
It is also why we know elephants mourn their dead, why our cats and dogs lick us and snuggle up to us and love us. It is why some dogs will protect an owner or kid. THAT is where morality comes from, not old myths or holy people. No, it is not comforting, but it is reality. To me personally I find that comforting, not in a utopia sense, no. But in the aspect it is amazing that it even happens.
There are very violent aspects of biological life just as there are very violent forces like a black hole. But there is tons of beauty in nature just as a calm night time sky. The crisp view of the stars at night still does not make space itself a good place for humans to live. Just like we might find an elephant nice to look at, I would fuck with a wild one in musk.
