Name: Julian Gordon ID#: 620039519 Title of Seminar: The Biology of Morality: Is there a biological basis for good

and evil? Length: 2hrs Type of medium: Power point presentation (Ppt) Name of Presenter: Dr Sacha Renee Todd Objectives: The aim of the presentation was to assess if morality was due to evolution and had a biological basis. In the seminar, we looked at morality and its definition as the standard for what is good or evil. To find out if morality had a biological basis, we looked at the evolution of the brain. The primary function of the brain is control and movement. Due to evolution, the human brain has gotten bigger in size, enabling more complex functions. There is also a notable difference between Homo sapiens and other animals. Humans are conscious of their surroundings and are self- aware of this consciousness. This self- awareness more than likely arose from the ability to communicate- a complex function attributed to increased brain size. We then looked at the animal kingdom to see if morality existed in other species. Species that are social show moral traits. At the same time, morality requires complex functions which require a larger brain size. The formation of groups could also explain morality. It is only within groups that morality can be performed. Group formation could confer an evolutionary cause in which having morals could be essential. Religion has also been seen to come out of the evolution of man from paeliolithic creatures to social beings. It was assessed that morality could come from religion or it may have existed prior to the emergence of religion. Even though morality may be good for the social group, it has a negative effect on some of the naturally occurring emotions that humans show. These emotions help with our survival so it would seem as though morality is a deterrent to human evolution.

Analysis: The seminar suggests three routes for morality: religion, group formation and survival/ the selfish gene. Group formation and survival have a biological framework while religion is of social standing. This review will show that morals have no biological basis but instead a social basis that helps a biological reason. This review will also show that morality is particular to human beings Morality is defined as codes of conduct put forward by a society or, a. Some other group, such as a religion, or b. Accepted by an individual for her own behaviour or normatively to refer to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2011). From this definition, it is clear that for morality to exist there must be group formation. What is good and what is bad is the standard that is set by the members of a society to which all adhere. Group formation introduces collaborative effort ( Tuckmans Team Development Model accessed Feb 22, 2014) and so morals help keep members in line. The formation of groups is a consequence of evolution. The climate changes in East Africa, the cradle of humanity caused forests to become smaller resulting in our ancestral primates to be ground dwelling. This caused them to be exposed to predation favouring bipedalism. This was selective to bigger brains and intelligence. However the downside to this was the requirement of a larger skull which meant a larger pelvic width for females to give birth. This made escaping predation hard so group formation was introduced as a means of survival (Connor 2013). Having a set of humans in a set area all working toward a common goal requires some deterrent of the selfish gene- morality. Morality helps group survival but doesnt help individual survival. This is demonstrated in the seven deadly sins: pride, anger, lust, gluttony, sloth, envy and greed. These emotions all have a biological base which in some way helps the individuals survival. Morals supress these emotions so that groups can exist. Also Kohlbergs Theory of moral development states that the highest form of morality is when one makes internal judgements for the greater good of

everybody (Kohlberg L, 1973). This suggests that even if one is at a disadvantage, he will do the moral thing for society. The existence of morality in other species may be possible. Altruism and eusociality exists in other species. Altruism occurs when one species does something for the advantage of another species but to the disadvantage of itself. Altruism can occur within species or among species. The reason given for this type of behaviour is that the reciprocal action would be returned sometime in the future. As a result, altruism is mostly seen in species that live long (Wilson Byron, 2013). The problem with altruism is that its purpose doesnt fall in line with morality. Morality is done on the basis of what is good for everybody, not what you can get in return. Therefore other species in the animal kingdom are not moral but rather opportunists. Secondly animals that are eusocial are not so by choice but by morphology, physiology and genetics. According to (Garraway Eric, 2013) the order Isoptera constitutes different castes: the reproductive castes, the workers and the soldiers. The king and queen are the reproductive castes while the soldiers and workers are infertile. The queen also reproduces based on hormonal stimulation. There is group interaction here but it isnt based on choice, which makes it not moral. To show that morality aids group formation particularly, the emergence of morality from religion will have to be nullified. It has already been established that morality is needed for cooperative behaviour. Empirically, religion is seen to have emerged from group formation like morals but is it just as necessary? According to (Brandt and Rozin, 1997, 299) secular morality is the most common denominator which persons within a society can agree on. As it regards religious morality, people will have differences which will cause living together difficult. This suggests that religion isnt necessary for group formation as is secular morality. However it is impossible for one to be religious and immoral. Concluding this review, morality exists because of groups and is based upon an internal choice for the rest of the group- even to the actors disadvantage. The issue of choice makes it particular to humans.

References 1. Brandt Allan and Paul Rozin, 1997 Morality and Health, Psychology Press, 299 2. Garraway Eric, 2013 Order Isoptera Lecture presented at Biology Lecture Theatre, UWI Mona Campus

3. Gert, Bernard, The Definition of Morality, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fall 2012 Edition, Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2012/entries/moralitydefinition/>. 4. Kohlberg, L. 1973, The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment. Journal of Philosophy, 70(18), 630646. 5. Steve Connor, Wed Oct 6 2013, Drought followed by brain: How climate change spurred evolution of human intelligence, The Independent, URL = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/droughtfollowed-by-brain-how-climate-change-spurred-evolution-ofhuman-intelligence-8884863.html Accessed Feb 22, 2014 6. Tuckmans Team Development Model URL = http://salvos.org.au/scribe/sites/2020/files/Resources/Transitions/HANDOUT_-_ Tuckmans_Team_Development_Model.pdf

Accessed Feb 22, 2014 7. Wilson Byron, 2013 Alturism: Kin Selection and Social Behavior Lecture presented at Science Lecture Theatre, UWI Mona Campus