As an agnostic and an occasional atheist, I don't believe the universe cares. In my opinion there is no universal moral code. No fundamental inexcusable acts. In the eyes of Nature, it is not wrong to murder, to commit incest, or to betray your spouse. But neither is it right. There is no higher code of acceptable behavior. You will not be rewarded eternally for being "good". Nor will you suffer beyond the grave for committing "heinous" acts.



Yet, despite this, you probably feel uncomfortable for me to tell you that it is not wrong to kill a fellow human being. You believe to the very depths of your soul that a serial killer is an immoral monster. But I'm not disagreeing with you. Nor is the universe. It just doesn't agree either.



I, however, am a human, hardwired by evolution the same way you and every other non-psychopathic human being is to regard murder and incest as sick and disturbed. But, and I repeat, we are alone in this. Morality is a human construct, not some set of behavioral laws handed down from a higher power above. Something is bad because when you do it your brain punishes itself with a wave of guilty emotion. Something is good because it rewards itself upon doing those acts. No more, no less.



Does the fact that morality is a product of our minds and evolution somehow make it any less valid? Less real? Less important? No. I don't think so. "It's just in your mind," has a negative connotation, for some reason. But really, everything is "just in our minds." Morality is no exception.



Speaking of minds, we all know of the angel on one shoulder and the demon on the other analogy. While that idea has religious implications, it is actually quite simple to describe this phenomenon without leaving the solid ground of science. It begins with a simple biology lesson. Biologically, every creature has but one purpose - to survive and pass on its genes. Due to our extraordinarily capable brains, humans have somewhat transcended that predetermined calling, but it is still there, and very powerful. Why? Because a species that does not seek to survive, will not survive. Likewise, the individuals that aren't genetically suited to their environment, won't have as many offspring, and thus those less effective traits will die off. This is evolution in a nutshell. Survival of the fittest, and biologically, to be fit means to produce offspring. Period.



Evolution is the force that shaped us, morals and all. But first, we must speak of the devil. We must speak of that "bad" voice in our head - the part of us that lies and cheats and steals. That is our legacy of survival, where the individual that gets the most resources survives, by whatever means necessary.



But as humans, evolution gave us something more, a competing desire to cooperate, to tell the truth, to not lie. It gave us morals, and the answer lies in the theory of group evolution. Essentially, it works like this: Our early ancestors were social, tribal creatures, where it was not only individuals, but groups that battled for survival. Thus, the groups of early hominids that best cooperated did better overall. The groups that could trust one another, that had a moral conscience, triumphed over those divided by selfish desire. So these groups survived and passed on the moral code embedded in our genes. This is why many moral systems are the same, regardless of culture. Everyone detests incest and the murder of innocents. Everyone applauds the selfless giving of oneself to others.



However, biologically, it is not selfless at all - every good act we commit is done because it allows our social group to do better. It allows us to survive and to have more children, who share our cooperative spirit. We may have moved beyond this life or death phase of existence, but our evolutionary history remains.



Interestingly, group theory can also explain other universal traits of humanity, like our belief in a spiritual realm. No one can deny that people who share a common religion are bound together by bonds tighter than no other. And no one can dispute that belief in some higher power that holds up the moral code as a standard for eternal reward versus eternal punishment is very motivating. Thus, these beliefs, which increased the communal strength of early tribal groups, are present in us all.



But, obviously, all of us have different levels of faith. For example, I highly doubt the existence of God, or anything else beyond the physical world. Why, you may wonder, if religion is so great evolutionarily, are there atheists? Once again, evolution can provide a convincing answer.



There is no one way to reproduce, and thus achieve biological success. Atheists play an important role in a society. When faced with sudden environmental change, it is essential that a population have diversity. Thus, there were perhaps some early hominid groups that were too religious, too united, to the point that if the group failed, everyone failed, and everyone died.



Atheists are questioners, and evolutionarily, a group with a few of those would be better suited to adapt quickly to new problems and to avoid cataclysmic mistakes. Thus, like we have always had our spiritual leaders, we will also always have our doubters, our atheists.



But I digress. The key point here is that morality is nothing special. It is a product of evolution. Morality is an arbitrary system of values that allowed our early ancestors to survive. And thus, we too are moral creatures. And so I ask again. Does this make morality less real? Does it cheapen its value to society? Its importance to human nature?



And once again, I don't think so. Whatever its source, morality is awesome. It makes us function as sentient, collaborative human beings. And, perhaps even more so than if morality were some arbitrary set of rules handed to us by God, it is unique and very human.


Now let me bask in the wonderful reward my brain just gave itself for saying such an inclusive, cooperative thing.