Moral Nihilism and its Implications
Marc Krellenstein
Northeastern University
Evolution is the Origin of Morality
It appears that our moral sense has its origins in evolution. This includes both the very existence and “ought” of moral judgments as well as many of our intuitively powerful moral precepts.
Gasp! Who would have ever thought that?!!
Of
course the evolution of biological life on Earth is the origin -- the source -- of human morality. After all, what is the human species itself but the [so far] tail end of it.
Instead, the mystery still revolves around 1] human morality and free will and, 2] given that "somehow" matter managed to acquire autonomy when it became us [God or No God], how to explain that extraordinary leap from us and all other life forms on Earth.
As many evolutionary psychologists have argued, an innate sense of sympathy, tit-for-tat reciprocity and other similar traits probably provided evolutionary advantages when they first appeared, increasing the likelihood of the survival of the individual or perhaps a group with similar shared characteristics (though the idea of group selection remains controversial).
Yes, it appears crystal clear that genetically we are hard-wired to embody traits that allow us to become a more or less cohesive community. Traits that allow us to empathize with others, to come together with others and to accept and then sustain a shared ethos.
On the other hand, how then to explain the history of human interactions steeped in countless conflicts within and between communities? Up to and including things like mass murder and genocide. What, human biology has absolutely nothing to do with that? That, instead, this can only be explained by those who, wallowing in memes, "somehow" failed to embody this "natural" innate sense of sympathy and reciprocity?
Evidence for this includes the nearly universal presence of good/bad judgments of some kind, even in infants.
Okay, and if all infants regardless of their historical and cultural indoctrinations grew up to embrace the same right and wrong value judgments that would be extraordinary. But, of course, it is anything but that. Those pesky memes again?
In other words, this part:
Individual choice, culture and, more generally, the sort of human brain given by evolution that allows for our apparent ability to choose and the creation of cultures can then take morality far beyond what was determined by evolution. Deeply rooted norms become efficient ways for biology and culture to maintain the benefits of coordinated behavior -- we do not need to reason through every situation -- and norms may reinforce overall beneficial behavior when reasoning alone would not suffice. Examples of this include situations where individuals do better only if both cooperate rather than act in their apparent self-interest.
Coordinated behaviors applicable to this or that community. Until for any number of reasons they are not. Again, either within communities or between them. It's just that a few thousand years ago the "surplus labor" that Marx and Engels spoke of allowed for the existence of philosophers. They then invited
ethics and came to believe this: that, either through God or No God at all, it was possible for human beings to "think through" all of the conflicts within and between communities to date in order to
define the words needed to
deduce the
wisest human behaviors.
And then, historically, as Marx and Engels suggested, in turn, a political economy called capitalism came into existence predicated on the assumption that competition and "me, myself and I" were actually the optimal manner in which interact as a human species. The "virtue of selfishness" some called it.
My unc's super-rich. I might just be able ta pay ya off you know. 
