quote:
Moral behavior is acceptable behavior, and evolution affects behavior, and it affects what one could consider acceptable.
In a predatory species, murder could be acceptable as long as the victim is consumed. The new male lion pride leader kills the children of his predecessor so that he can start spreading his hereditary traits.
One could certainly make an argument that traits that are evolutionarily favored in a particular species would be more likely to become a part of the generally accepted morality of that species. However, that does not equate to logically deriving those traits as being moral. PaulK is absolutely correct. The ToE could help us determine which traits or behaviors would most likely maximize the reproductive success of our species, but the ToE can never tell which of those traits or behaviors are moral. To arrive at that conclusion, one must graft onto the ToE the non-evolutionary premise that increased reproductive success is itself a morally desirable end.
Those who would sacrifice an essential liberty for a temporary security will lose both, and deserve neither. -- Benjamin Franklin
We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat
™ Version 4.2
