Where Morals Come From

It’s hard to imagine that we are living in a time when about a third of Americans approve of Trump's family-separation policy. How did we get here? It is not only immoral, it is inhumane – not human.

If we cannot understand the process behind this slippery-slope of inhumanity, we are doomed to unimaginable human suffering because you can be certain of one thing; it will not stop with family-separations.

Why does it seem so easy to lose our moral compass when things get bad? And where do our morals come from anyway?

The Golden Rule

Many would have you believe that there would be no morals without religion, but that can’t be true. Virtually all major religions have some form of The Golden Rule but it can also be found in many other forms throughout history including Plato, Kant, Epictetus, and Seneca. Clearly the sentiment of, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is an inherent part of being human and not exclusive to religion. Our morals are not unique to religion or philosophy, they aren’t even unique to humans.

The Pillars of Morality

We can think of Reciprocity (fairness), and Empathy (compassion), as the foundation or “Pillars of Morality.” If we observed them elsewhere in nature, it would prove universality. We tend to think that morality is a human-only trait, but take a look at this short YouTube clip and you will see how one monkey feels about being paid unfairly.

Clearly, a sense of fairness and our morals are not unique to humans; therefore morals must be hardwired into our brains. They must also be part of the more primitive areas of the brain like the limbic system, and not the prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is responsible for emotions and quick reactions. The prefrontal cortex is much slower and is implicated in complex planning and logic. (Daniel Kahneman’s, “Thinking Fast and Slow”)

Morals evolved before complex thinking because social animals needed a way to get along with others. The only way to do that is to have some sense of what others are feeling. But how do members of a group do that?

Mirror Neurons

A small team of neurophysiologists in Italy led by Giacomo Rizzolatti found that neurons in the brains of macaque monkeys responded whether they were performing an act, like eating or just observing the activity in others. This led to the idea of mirror neurons.

Source

Mirror Neurons have been observed in every species that exhibits social behavior. Primates, canines and even birds need a way to adjust their behavior to the group. There is also a huge evolutionary advantage to be able to copy behaviors like where to find food, rather than trying to figure it out for yourself.

It makes sense that in order to live in a sophisticated society it would be necessary to feel what the other group members were feeling at some level. Each member of the group would need to understand the physical and emotional states of others in order to interact and behave appropriately in that group. Mirror neurons are the physical mechanism responsible for this process and by controlling the limbic system they also control emotions and empathy.

Empathy

Further research found that the same brain regions in people are activated whether actually experiencing an emotion like pain, pleasure, happiness, and fear; or just watching someone else experiencing those emotions. Our mirror neurons are working when we get emotional watching a movie. That’s why we go to movies and sporting events, to feel emotions vicariously – and safely.

More on Mirror Neurons:

NOVA scienceNOW: 1 - Mirror Neurons

But what about those who seem to lack empathy? Our mirror neurons are not working when we knowingly hurt someone and don’t feel it ourselves. Psychopaths often acknowledge not feeling empathy, yet they are very good at faking it to get what they want. Empathy for them is seen as a weakness and is to be exploited.

Perhaps the emotional and empathic range of someone is simply a matter of how many mirror neurons they have. But, what about humanity in general, over time? Are we getting better or worse?

Increasing Moral Sensitivity

Martin Luther King said that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Why? Life used to be cheap and people seemed to delight in other people’s pain. Burning “witches”, boiling people in oil, lynching, and other horrendous acts were considered normal at one time. Did they not have empathy back then? Are we evolving more and better mirror neurons, or is it something else?

Before science became the preferred standard for explaining things, people believed just about anything to avoid the anxiety of not knowing. When bad things are happening we need a way to fix it, and that often requires a scapegoat. Crops won’t grow, sacrifice a virgin. Pestilence, burn some witches. This need to do something, anything, to stop the bad stuff from happening created false beliefs and those beliefs had to be satisfied.

Then science comes along and proves to be better at solving our problems. But it’s a very slow process because people don’t like to change their minds. Young people are typically more open-minded, so as the generations passed it became clear that science produced better solutions, usually without all the human suffering.

As populations grew, we were forced to become more social and empathy became more important. Also, empathic people had a distinct advantage in society because of their ability to learn new skills and gain support from the group. Natural selection at work. And this is why “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Empathy Suppressed by Beliefs

False beliefs continue to produce bad behavior and they do it by suppressing empathy. Just as in the past, when bad things happen we need a way to explain it and that requires a scapegoat. Once there is a target, the fearmongering can begin and it is very predictable in its form.

First, take a few “facts,” that are about as likely as getting hit by lightning in a submarine, and repeat them incessantly. Then appeal to those who have a simplistic worldview requiring only simplistic solutions, and finally, appeal to emotion rather than intellect.

That last one is important. By appealing to emotion rather than intellect the indoctrination bypasses the thinking part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, and stays in the limbic system producing all that fear and rage. What could be more effective than to stop people from thinking?

There are so-called “news” organizations that peddle this form of indoctrination because it is not only effective, it is extremely profitable. They produce a feedback loop that appeals to an audience with a simplistic worldview, (good vs evil). Then they invent “facts” that support that view and keep their audience in an adrenaline and cortisol induced haze.

This is why the people that watch this stuff seem so angry and tend to parrot back the “facts” word for word when asked about the latest topics in the news. They are no longer thinking individuals. They are a reactionary mob controlled by beliefs implanted by news corporations for profit.

That’s how we got to the state we are in. A state of mind where it’s okay to separate children from their mothers. A state where beliefs suppress our mirror neurons because they have taken over our brains at the core limbic system level preventing many of us from feeling empathy.

Beliefs

A person's beliefs are seen as their most precious possessions. We are constantly killing and dying for them. The irony is that we don’t own the beliefs, they own us. We must become aware of how our beliefs got into our minds and why they stay there. Beliefs are like parasites that infect our minds for their own purpose. They should continually be looked at with skepticism knowing the power they have over us. They are not us, not human, and they have the power to makes us inhuman.

The Takeaway

Knowing that our morals are universal, and not inherently human should convince us that there is a true moral course. If it is in our power to reduce or eliminate suffering, human or otherwise, we should do it. This should be the primary motivation behind all government policy; not profit, and not some distorted definition of progress. Progress should be seen as human beings become more humane, more human.

Evolution provides a natural process for improvement but it is blind and there is often suffering in that process. But evolution produced us and for the first time ever we have control over much of that misery and pain. Most human suffering today is completely unnecessary given that our technology can feed us and keep us healthy. It is only when false beliefs enter our minds that the needless suffering begins.

It should be obvious that individuals and even groups of individuals are not the cause of our problems, it is what they believe. Otherwise decent, well-meaning people can become monsters when following and protecting beliefs that are not aligned with reality. Attack the belief, not the individual.

The next time you see an immoral act, know that it is either a lack of mirror neurons or mirror neurons being suppressed by beliefs. Acknowledge the immorality for what it is – the inability to feel the other’s pain, then act accordingly.

Separating a mother from her child is the result of false beliefs suppressing empathy. It is inhumane – not human.

Please comment because if I don’t know your arguments, I can’t know my own.

Holding Hands Photo by Roman Kraft