Morality

[Rahul]

And why are social Darwinian mentalitys (like Hitlers) seen as wrong?

Ok, Mr. Theist, *grins* we are a social animal. Up until really, really recently our species were in small groups or tribes. Individuals who were cruel, violent, or detrimental to their group were less likely to pass on their genes to future generations.

We also began pair bonding with our mates. This is because our offspring take a really long time to mature. Our babies are basically still fetuses when they are born. A giraffe or deer baby can stand and even run in less than a day. Our babies can't even crawl until they are several months old. Our females needed the continously dedicated assistance of the father. If they did not have this assistance the child was less likely to survive, thereby erasing his genes from future generations.

So, you see, we are a social species.

I am completely without belief in a God. I've also been completely monogamous with my mate for 11 years, married for 10, and have two beautiful daughters, age 8 and 9.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm thrilled to be a dad, and my kids are a joy. A lot of the times we'll take off and do fun stuff like fishing for crawfish with some string and bacon at the pond over at the park.

I reject nihilism as appealing to someone who is a borderline sociopath.

Tribalism is more difficult to work with. Humans start dehumanizing those of other tribes during conflict. The most common example are derogatory terms that one side will start calling members of the other tribe. This helps break down our natural disinclination to slaughter other humans by making them seem non-human.

And hell, now we can kill from a distance, making it even easier.

Hitler approved the Holocaust. But I've never read about him actually personally watching a mass gassing. Heck, I've never read about him visiting a Concentration Camp.

Did he? It would be interesting to read about him actually watching the bodies being thrown in pits and being burned. I doubt it happened.

I read an autobiography from one of the guys who ran one of those camps. He wrote it in jail before he was hung.

He spoke of Nazis that were the most vocal about eliminating the jews going pale-faced and vomiting when they came to actually witness the operations.

They developed the system they did after witnessing what happened to their troops after just having them shoot tons of people. Suicide rates skyrocketed.

They had to find a way to do it more removed. So they ran them into big rooms telling them they were getting deloused and showered. Hell, even handed them bars of soap. Then someone would drop in the canister, they'd wait until the screaming stopped, and then have other jews remove and burn the bodies.