As seen by Mr. Lazaroff
One day, many years ago, upon
asking if anyone had any questions, I had a student ask me the following: What's
the meaning of life?
The student, who was feeling very happy with himself, was rather surprised when
I proceeded to tell him the following:
1. Survive
2. Reproduce
3. Help, rather than harm, other members of your tribe
(as this will maximize your chances
of achieving # 1 and # 2 . . .)
NOTE: Steps 1 & 2 apply
to ALL forms of life.
Step 3 is limited to Social Animals; yes, that includes us!
1. Survive: Live Another Day! Top
Survival is a basic instinct. It helps to explain why some species, such as the Norway Rat, will become violent when resources are scarce. It also explains why house plants grow sideways toward the nearest bright window, as the light is necessary for photosynthesis, which aids in its survival. Being nervous around heights is nothing more than self-preservation kicking in!
Be sure to see how this connects with Darwin's Theory!
2. Reproduce: Take Care of Your Children! Top
The fact that teenagers think so much about sex is due to this step. The love of a parent toward a child evolved because it helps us to better rear our children, thus aiding in their survival. Parents in concentration camps have given all of their food to their children, for, to the parent, the child's survival is more important than that of the parent. Some species, such as the squid, put so much energy into producing gametes that they die as soon as they release their gametes into the water. In these cases, to reproduce becomes more important than one's own survival!
Be sure to see how this connects with Darwin's Theory!
3. Help, rather than harm, other members of your tribe: The Social Contract! Top
When one is a member of a social species, taking care of other members of the group helps the group to survive. Baboons will travel in packs, with the mothers and children surrounded by the more aggressive males. Meerkats will stand on their hind legs to keep watch for predators, alerting the troop when danger is afoot. Humans in indigenous cultures will share child rearing duties with other adults, rather than help ONLY one's own children.
This is the step that is most closely connected with the idea of the social contract. Thomas Hobbes (for whom the Hobbes of Calvin & Hobbes was named!) stated that without laws and an established political order, that our lives would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Thus the concept of freedom comes at a cost. If one were truly, completely free, then such acts as rape and murder wouldn't be against the law, and our lives would be a free-for-all with an ever-mounting pile of bodies. When we give up those "freedoms," we gain safety and security, and our lives end up being longer.
One can see this represented in laws, many of which exist in almost every culture. For example, to quote two basic laws. it is illegal to kill, and it is illegal to steal. Many of these laws go very far back, and are represented in religious texts. Note the 6th commandment in the Old Testament: "Thou shalt not kill." What about the 8th commandment: "Thou shalt not steal." Given these laws, one can sense the fact that morality evolved as a way to help us survive as a group.
All of this does beg the question: who do you consider to be in your group? Do you limit it (1) to your nuclear family, meaning only your parents and siblings, (2) your extended family, including grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc., (3) family, friends, and religious group, (4) your state, but you have nothing good to say about the people of insert state name here, (5) your country, (6) the word. Once again, that is a continuum. From this, one can see that political differences often base themselves on the distinction above.
For many people, they may see religion as separate from biology, and morality as separate from science. What I have argued, however, is that both (1) a religious viewpoint, and (2) a purely scientific, biological, evolutionary viewpoint, both have arrived at the same conclusion. Did morality evolve? Was morality handed down by God? Was evolution the means by which God gave us morality? That, you must decide for yourself. In any case, the purpose of this page is to show that we are not so far from each other's viewpoint after all.
Be sure to see how this connects with Darwin's Theory!
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