https://www.ted.com/talks/frans_de_waal_do_animals_have_morals#t-992946
This Ted Talks video describes moral behavior, including empathy, cooperation and a sense of fairness, in various animals. The experiment with Capuchin monkeys near the end is especially interesting.
I think it demonstrates the evolutionary origin of morality in humans.
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@Orignal post
Agreed.
I think it is rather bullshit that people give credit to morals from their unevidenced god ideas, (even though typically that is highly hypocritical,) instead of giving the credit of morals where the credit of morals is due, our own extended ancestry. Our own ancestors going back millions of years gave rise to "morals" to better work together in groups instead of being lone hunters. We have morals because if we did not, we would of likely gone extinct millions of years ago when ever one of us within a tribe, with the element of surprise was in a bad mood.
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They have an intangible product, "God", that costs nothing to "produce", so it's a simple step to claiming other intangibles, such as morals, as being in their domain. They continue to produce nothing and sell it to their congregants. The flock gets fleeced with their own cooperation.
@ Algebe
Thanks for that, should be compulsory viewing for theists...
Creationists are doubly delusional here, they deny evolution as there is nothing in all the evidence that indicates humans are any more significant than any other animal, and of course they deny shared ancestry so can't ever accept the evidence that things like human morality is evolved as is amply evidenced by other animals having the ability to recognise moral behaviour when they live in social groups.
Holy books don't teach morality. They teach complete obedience and total loyalty to the Boss.
Animals, including humans, tend to act in ways to minimize conflict because constant conflict is simply too exhausting. So when animals are acting nice it's easy to say that they are displaying morals. In reality they are simply saving energy.
@Diotrephes:
The moral behavior shown by the monkey in the video wasn't designed to avoid conflict. It became aggressive and actually rejected food because it was treated unfairly. That's a moral reaction.
Algebe,
Maybe the monkey was simply crazy.
Almost as if morals are subjective. However this strikes me as missing the point. Morality is the ability to recognise the difference between right and wrong behaviours. No one is suggesting these aren't as subjective in all other animals as they are in humans.
To say something isn't really moral because it served a common purpose or promote common well being doesn't make sense to me.
It's like theists claiming they're more moral, or have objective morals, because they adhere to their "chosen" religion's rules.
All morality is about choice and reason and learned behaviour. However I can see the reason and benefit in basing morals on avoiding causing unnecessary suffering as far as is possible and promoting general well being.
I see no rational reason to base my morals on subjective religious beliefs that it'll please one of the countless deities humans have created, that no one can demonstrate any objective evidence for, and where the 'rules' are often so archaic they're cruel and barbaric by contemporary standards. At least secular morals like secular science can admit of an error and improve. Religions make a mockery of the idea morals can only come from divine diktat every time their adherents are dragged along kicking and screaming towards progress, resisting all the way because an ancient superstitious tome from the bronze and iron age disagrees.
Animals are capable of moral behaviour, why they are moral is irrelevant to the point, which is that there is no evidence morality comes from a deity, or that it is unique to humans.
Edited for typos...
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