Genesis
Morality and Instinct
My thesis, this proposition, that morality is instinctive in human nature, is not new: it follows a long strand of philosophical thought stretching from Aristotle to the present day, and comes in many guises. Nor is it new in identifying human instincts as the part of human nature in which morality is rooted: that was done by Darwin.
It is new, I believe, in that it identifies the particular instincts in which morality is so rooted thereby providing an accurate understanding of morality’s origins, and, in thus resolving the problem of authority, has fundamental implications for the way we live. It provides a sharp distinction between the innate instincts that mark the core moral, permanent and universal values and their corollaries on the one hand, and the consensual or relative values that merely respond to changing social conditions on the other.
We are in the midst of two moral revolutions running concurrently. The first is the fusing together of some formerly antagonistic communities and their heartening recognition of each other’s common instinctive morality— witness the formation of the European Union after the end of the second world war; and the successful struggle of black Americans for equality in the U.S. The second is the quite extraordinarily rapid decline of relative values (such as adultery, blasphemy, capital punishment, contraception, homosexuality, indecent dress and a moribund host of others) in advanced countries. They are on their way out.
E. O. Wilson - "The individual is seen as predisposed biologically to make certain choices... Strong innate feeling and historical experience cause certain actions to be preferred." Consilience.In my view, the world is moving (erratically) away from a view of morality founded in religious beliefs. What remains is an immensely powerful conviction that has always been deeply felt, that morality resides in human nature, in the social instincts and the sense of community.
Darwin was convinced that "the first foundation or origin of the moral sense lies in the social instincts, including sympathy" (The Descent of Man). And when these instincts are observed, the inescapable conclusion seems to be that they (and therefore morality) have their roots in biology and evolution.
Nevertheless, our instinctive sense of community (on which morality is built), and our sense of individuality, have to be separated and the conflict between them, when it arises, resolved.
E. O. Wilson (in his book, Consilience) suggests further research to determine the "springs of ethical behavior" and observes that ‘the greatest void in knowledge in such a venture is the biology of the moral sentiments’.
"Human beings share a common moral understanding," observes Professor Michael Ruse. "This universality is guaranteed by the shared genetic background of every member of Homo Sapiens." (Taking Darwin Seriously). His views are starting to be widely shared. Indeed, there now seems to be the beginnings of a consensus on the biological basis for morality, although its parameters lack definition. That is the task at hand to which Wilson refers.