[MD] Is morality Hard Wired?

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting Krimel <Krimel at Krimel.com>:

> [Platt]
> Who is this "we" you speak of? A suicide bomber? Seems she would be excluded
> from the hard-wired morality of playing nice that some science types are
> claiming evolved from our animal ancestors -- the monkey people.  
>   
> [Krimel]
> When Shermer talks about this he notes the difference between, within group
> violence and between group violence. Among humans we call this tribal
> warfare. Suicide bomber are practicing between group violence. They are also
> subject to substantial social pressure which may override hardwiring.
> 
> To say that we inherit certain traits does not mean we can not overcome
> them. It really just speaks to the difficulty in doing so. 

Human history, especially of the twentieth century, belies the notion that
hard-wired benevolence is difficult to overcome. It suggests instead that
we are hard-wired for aggression, especially against those who are strangers
and/or different than us. Co-operation is pretty much limited to one's own
in-group. Or, as Pirsig wrote, "Cooperation without coercion is a devastating
fiction."

   

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