(September 12, 2013 at 1:56 am)Lunalle Wrote: My question is this: Do we have an obligation to live according to a moral standard, based on maximizing the prosperity of our genes, or our species?Hi Steve- for me, it's always been simple:
In the very likely event that this life is all we get, only 2 things matter:
1.) Living that one life as fully and richly and sensually as possible.
2.) Trying really, really hard not to fuck up anyone else's one chance, which sometimes conflicts with #1, but is worth evaluating in the event of such a conflict.
Is this based on maximizing the prosperity of our genes/species? I don't know. I'm a highly social primate with fierce biological need for kin group preservation. We are tribal apes. Is my personal moral code as described above in line with that? Probably, but how can I know for sure? Since my genes will not be passed down, all I have to worry about is my tribe (and most primates aren't worried about species- they're worried about geographical or kin groups, which is pretty different). I don't think my behavior is weird for my phylogenetic group.
