Spring Break
Column: The origins of right and wrong
Bryan Rolfsen/Columnist
Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Opinions
The idea of right and wrong is an age old conundrum. Where do these moral conceptions come from? Why is it between very different cultures, there are ubiquitous moral beliefs?
There are a few rationalizations that come to mind.
First, many people believe that our morals are taught to us through religion. This is definitely a possibility, especially for people who were subjected to some form of faith from a very young age.
Still, there is the logical question: Why is it that atheists and people who have never attended church have virtually the same moral aptitude as believers? In my opinion, religion is a method of control, imposed as governance, which has historically enforced moral behavior (except in the case of causing wars, ostracizing homosexuals, invoking genocide, etc.).
Second, there is the idea that our parents teach us right and wrong. This makes some sense to me. We are constantly around our parents, we pick up their behaviors and we often pass them down to our own children.
If a child's father beats up on his family, we generally think that the child will be more prone to engaging in physical abuse. However, there are people who overcome terrible childhoods, apparently using their parents as an example of what not to do. If this is the case, where do they obtain the positive example? Religion? School? The media? Their biological makeup?
I was recently reading an article by Nicholas Wade from The New York Times reporting on a book called "Moral Minds: The Nature of Right and Wrong" (2006) by Marc D. Hauser. Basically, the theory of his book revolves around the idea that there is a collective moral conscious that we, as a species, finalized about 50,000 years ago, just before we dispersed from our African origins.
Hauser hypothesizes that morality is part of our genetic makeup, that it enforces the large scale social solidarity of humans. He believes that this unity was evolutionarily viable and as such, the traits were expounded upon and passed down.
By intellectualizing morality, we can take a step back from our actions.
In times of conflict, however, it's not the origin of morality that gives us the power to make the best choices; it's the strength of our characters.
Often there is not a clear cut right and wrong, so we have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes those decisions hurt the people around us; sometimes they make the situation worse.
In the end, it's all about whether we're willing to take responsibility for our actions. We act morally, immorally, rightly and wrongly on a daily basis. It's the way we deal with the consequences that will determine whether or not we sleep at night.
Bryan Rolfsen is a senior biology major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
There are a few rationalizations that come to mind.
First, many people believe that our morals are taught to us through religion. This is definitely a possibility, especially for people who were subjected to some form of faith from a very young age.
Still, there is the logical question: Why is it that atheists and people who have never attended church have virtually the same moral aptitude as believers? In my opinion, religion is a method of control, imposed as governance, which has historically enforced moral behavior (except in the case of causing wars, ostracizing homosexuals, invoking genocide, etc.).
Second, there is the idea that our parents teach us right and wrong. This makes some sense to me. We are constantly around our parents, we pick up their behaviors and we often pass them down to our own children.
If a child's father beats up on his family, we generally think that the child will be more prone to engaging in physical abuse. However, there are people who overcome terrible childhoods, apparently using their parents as an example of what not to do. If this is the case, where do they obtain the positive example? Religion? School? The media? Their biological makeup?
I was recently reading an article by Nicholas Wade from The New York Times reporting on a book called "Moral Minds: The Nature of Right and Wrong" (2006) by Marc D. Hauser. Basically, the theory of his book revolves around the idea that there is a collective moral conscious that we, as a species, finalized about 50,000 years ago, just before we dispersed from our African origins.
Hauser hypothesizes that morality is part of our genetic makeup, that it enforces the large scale social solidarity of humans. He believes that this unity was evolutionarily viable and as such, the traits were expounded upon and passed down.
By intellectualizing morality, we can take a step back from our actions.
In times of conflict, however, it's not the origin of morality that gives us the power to make the best choices; it's the strength of our characters.
Often there is not a clear cut right and wrong, so we have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes those decisions hurt the people around us; sometimes they make the situation worse.
In the end, it's all about whether we're willing to take responsibility for our actions. We act morally, immorally, rightly and wrongly on a daily basis. It's the way we deal with the consequences that will determine whether or not we sleep at night.
Bryan Rolfsen is a senior biology major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
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