> -----Original Message----- > From: G Money [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 8:08 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: Boy Scouts Of America > > On Nov 6, 2007 6:01 PM, Jim Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > There's a basic "moral" drive. Much of it, if looked at > subjectively, can > > be traced to the evolutionary pressures on social animals. Sharing > > resources, cooperative protection of the young, punishment for > violence to > > the group - these all exist in pretty much all higher-order social > > animals. > > Well, I dunno Jim...religion, or at least the belief in a God, has been > around a LOOOONG time...maybe even since the very first human like > creature became capable of thought.
Even granting your argument you would then have to acknowledge that morality does not require any particular belief. Animistic beliefs were the norm for many thousands of years. Poly-theism was (and still is) very prevalent. It's also worth noting that many religions (namely many Eastern religions) lack many of the concepts that we're talking about: moral codes, punishment, etc. So if we (for me, only for the sake of argument) agree that religion is a cornerstone of morality it seems clear that any old religion, as formal or as informal as you like will do. Of course while that might seem true it's also belied by the fact that many modern religions claim moral superiority only for themselves, go so far on many occasions throughout history, to seek to exterminate others. Religion can definitely manipulate our basic morals, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Sacrificial faiths (many still around today) tend to run counter to our instincts (especially those whch involve human sacrifice). Various religions have encouraged cannibalism, child abuse, poor diet, self-mutilation and many other things which don't generally fit with basic moral stances. At the same time religions have also enhanced certain moral principles beyond what they might be: charity, community, etc. > We can't necessarily say for sure whether a sense of morality predated > belief in a higher power. Maybe the two have been intertwined since > their inception..... But we can definitely see the foundational aspects of our morality in other higher-order animals: primates and cetaceans, especially. Looking at the biological imperatives it's at least plausible to suggest that our complex moral codes are derived from those baser, but clearly similar behaviors. They are enhanced, codified and made more complex by our higher intelligence but still very similar. In short it's possible to see naturalistic reasons (and current examples) for the basis of morality. I'm not for a second saying that religion has no impact on morality - just the opposite; it has a huge impact. I'm suggesting that the roots of morality lie much farther back in the formation and evolution of social groups. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Check out the new features and enhancements in the latest product release - download the "What's New PDF" now http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/coldfusion/cf8_beta_whatsnew_052907.pdf Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:245979 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
