XPost: alt.philosophy, talk.politics.libertarian, alt.anarchism   
   XPost: alt.religion   
   From: jamesd@echeque.com   
      
   ralph   
   > But the use of "morality" in the context of chimp   
   > behaviour seems a step too far. We did not evolve from   
   > chimps, and have not been in the kind of social   
   > groupings they have today.   
      
   We evolved from the common ancestor of chimps and   
   humans.  Behavior common to chimps and humans, is   
   probably representative of that common ancestor.   
      
   Now chimps, compared to people, behave very badly - but   
   whereas cats are entirely amoral, and wolves and dogs   
   more moral than humans, chimps are somewhat moral.   
      
   James A. Donald:   
   > > The larger the community, the more it is full of   
   > > strangers, of people you don't know and don't care   
   > > much about, the less compelling the reasons for   
   > > ethical behavior.  In a large community, if you burn   
   > > someone, you can probably find new people to burn,   
   > > but in a small community, if you burn someone, you   
   > > are hosed, you cannot repeat the scam, and they are   
   > > likely to get back to you.   
      
   ralph   
   > Stone age cultures discovered in recent times usually   
   > had little contact and less amity between adjoining   
   > villages, and that seems to me the best pointer to the   
   > behavioiur of our ancestors.   
      
   But within the village, you had a reasonable level of   
   amity.   
      
   It was often the case that the village was in a state of   
   war or near war with all surrounding villages - but it   
   was also often not the case.  While the threat of war   
   was omnipresent, keeping it to a threat, rather than an   
   actuality, required one to refrain from murdering   
   strangers.   
      
   James A. Donald:   
   > > Thus for many millions of years, the ability to   
   > > judge people as good or evil has been critical for   
   > > survival. Judge wrong, you get screwed, possibly you   
   > > get your throat cut.   
      
   ralph   
   > Homo sapiens sapiens hasn't been in existence for   
   > "many millions of years" less than one,   
      
   Beings who judge others as moral or immoral have been in   
   existence for many millions of years.   
      
   --   
     ----------------------   
   We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because   
   of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this   
   right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state.   
      
   http://www.jim.com/      James A. Donald   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)