Reply To: Burn Baby Burn

[Simon Paynton]

@Arcus – “While these models are good, they are a bit convoluted”

– I prefer Haidt’s to Schweder’s model.  I don’t find them convoluted at all – I’ve had no reason to disagree with them, I find that they match up with the overall evolution of morality, starting with the “second-personal” relationships within the small groups of our pre-human ancestors (kindness/fairness) and incorporating the move to large groups (group loyalty, respect for authority).  Also, “sanctity/degredation” is also a “thing” as evidenced by, when we say for example, “you dirty rat” – mixing the metaphors between physical and moral uncleanliness.

“Divinity: Your body is merely a vessel for the soul, which belongs to a higher being and must be protected from degradation and disgrace as this would be an insult to the higher being.”

– this raises an important point.  Organised religion starts to look more and more like a giant moral enterprise.  In religion, the moral and the spiritual – you could say, heaven and earth – are closely intertwined.  They are right about this.  It is a reminder that spirituality can be seen, in one sense, as a purification or distillation of morality.  Any moral system worth its salt has to have spirituality built in from the beginning.

So it’s possible to use basic evolutionary knowledge to reveal the meaning of some core beliefs in Buddhism, for example.  (unfinished)