The  EVOLUTION  of  MORALITY FRAME 32   
Previous > SUMMARY AND APPLICATION

Thinker Rodin's & chimp

  • Biologically, humans have multiple moral potentials.

    Morally, humans have multiple behavioral potentials. Despite some predispositions, they do not seem bound by their genes to be either selfish or cooperative. They exhibit the emotional and cognitive tools for both. Evolution seems to have generated sometimes conflicting motives. Processes at different levels of organization, especially, may foster contrary tendencies. Perhaps this is why philosophers and others, even after many centuries, continue to debate the nature of morality. Ultimately, it seems, humans exercise their cognitive and emotional potential by finding their own ethical trajectory, both individually and collectively.

  • Next

    End

    CHIMP PHOTO BY FELIX WARNEKEN, COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF THE BONOBOS AND THE "3 CHIMPS" HOMINOID PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP.

    © 2008 EVOLUTIONofMORALITY.net