Are We Born Moral?

Are We Born Moral?

The article Are We Born Moral really made me think about morals in general. Each culture has differing morals, which leads me to believe that we are not born moral. It seems as though we are born into society and basically shaped by our family and surroundings. Looking back in my life I know that I was taught my values and morals by the people I looked up to; such as my family and teachers. If we were born with our morals wouldn’t every society/culture have the same values? Differing families and people share different morals and values so it seems to me we are taught them. I had seen a documentary focusing on children who had been neglected. A young girl was thrown out of her house at 3 years old to live with the animals in a barn behind her house. The child was given food but had very little human interaction. When she was found she was living like a dog; barking, growling, and couldn’t speak like a normal human being. Now she is in a mental hospital being rehabilitated to speak and live a more normal life. This documentary made me believe that what we are put into after we are born shapes not only our actions but our whole perception on living. In all I definitely take the side that we are born a clean slate and our taught our morals.

Courtney Timms

Metaphors We Live By/ Lakoff

Living by metaphors is an idea expressed by this author. I believe it is merely an opinion that has enough evidence to support it. Therefore, stating that the way we think, what we experience and what we do every day is very much a matter of metaphor, isn't out of the ball park.

Argument is War
It is amazing that when speaking of these two subjects, similar phrases and words can be used to describe the process or situation of them. At war, physically, in combat, it can be easy to describe the weaker link, as indefensible and caught off guard. When arguing one can also say, that when confronting the other individual, they caught them off guard and in turn caused them to be defenseless. You can describe an argument as a war. There are similarities in how these two topics are approached. You are opposing the person you are in disagreement with. And thus it can be stated you are also opposing another country for several reasons I will purposely omit for the sake of time. There are many other instances, in life in general, were we also use analogies to describe a situation so that we can convey it more effectively. Maybe it can be said too , we live by poetry.
Metaphors are concepts. The way a person conveys their thoughts is parallel to how they perceive their environment. I would say it is likely that a person is more linguistic and articulate depending on their environment. How can we explain things without linking it to something else that makes more sense? If I am having a hard time explaining a math problem to a student, I find one of the best ways to explain it is to link it to something happening in real life so that they can associate it better and implement that same process in order to get their answer.
Interesting topic.

Hauser Evolution

I found that Hauser's article called "Origin of the Minds" was very interesting because it mentions how the shuman mind works differently than that of the chimpanzee by "degree and not of kind." He states that researchers have noted that cognition in some species are blocked but as for humans we are able to use that in our lives to do several things. Hauser then goes to name four traits that humans can show through out human lineage: (1) generative computation, which then can be sub categorized into two others: recursion and combinatorial, (2) promiscuous combination, (3) mental symbols, and (4) abstract thought. The ones that seemed more interesting and important to me were the use of mental symbols and abstract thought. The use of mental symbols can encode sensory experiences (both real and imaginative) forming the base of a rich and complex system. It then can be expressed to others through words or pictures. We humans use this constantly in language such as poetry and art and music. Now, abstract thought lets us contemplate things beyond what we can see, hear, touch, taste or smell. Unlike animal thoughts, which are largely anchored on sensory and perceptual experience, many of our thoughts have no such connections. We tend to think about whats beyond the universe (imaginative ideas) using words, art and language.We also tend to figure away around difficulties that tend to show up in our way to communicate.

Are we born moral?

Out of the articles we have read in the past couple of weeks, I found the article, “Are We Born Moral?” to be really interesting. I think that we are taught what is wrong and right, rather than being born that way. I learned what is right and wrong from my parents, teachers, and friends. I never really thought about the topic. A good example was when we were asked whether or not we would keep money that we saw someone had dropped on the ground. My first reaction was that I would want to keep it. Bit after I thought about what to do for a short amount of time, I realized that I would have to give it back because that was what I was taught is right. The outcome of this situation also depends on who you were raised by and who you associate with, though there are also exceptions.

-Katie C.

Demonic Males

The article that i really enjoyed was Demonic Males. Besides the fact that it was full of interesting information a lot of it was open to interpretation. I think that the author obviously had many valid points but she seemed a little reluctant, to when women were portrayed in a dominant way, to accept that. I think women kind of live in a double standard. In one way they want to be treated equally as men but on the other hand they do not want to go to war and they want the fairy tale relationship where a man is dominant and provides for the female. Im not saying this is how it is for everyone, their are plenty of women brave enough to go to war and their are women who are the dominant ones in a relationship. I just thing we should stop being so hypocritical. I think no matter what happens men and women are always going to be viewed differently and that is neither a positive or a negative, its just the way it is. I would hardly say men are Demonic, at least not all of them. 

Muriel Smith 

Are we born moral?

In the class discussion, there was a lot of controversy whether species are born with morality instilled in them or if it is something they acquire over their years from personal experience. Another discussion which I was a main part of was, can instincts be separate from morals, when the story of the gorilla came up. I don't believe that people were understading what I was saying. What I was trying to say was that there are instances where people can react based on just an instinctual standpoint without it being based on their sense of morality. People can act on instinct without a concern of morality. What they were trying to say is that all of our actions (instincts) are based on a moral calculator or that what we do is based on our morals. For example, an alcoholic may start to drink when they are depressed, that does not make it right, even by their own stand point necessarily. There are many things that humans do without morality in mind, but instinct. How many people break traffic laws when they know someone isn't looking, to get to where they need to be faster? A lot of people. The thing about morals is that they are corrupt. It is true that most people only abide by what is right or wrong if other people are there to see.

Unfair Compensation

Some of the thoughts and ideas in the Demonic Males article seemed off to me. I could see how they were all rooted in fact and different ideas but it was hard for me to wrap my head around how these things could be considered okay. American society has changed over the years growing more excepting of everyone over time, laws have been set up to fight age, ethnic, and gender discrimination for jobs, woman have the right to vote and be seen as equal. But in other countries woman are still considered property, a slave in a way. I knew that this was true but hadn’t seen the extent of it all until reading this excerpt.

I was shocked when I read the story about the !Kung woman and what had happened to her daughter. It’s bad enough that she was married off at such a young age but to die at the hand of her husband over the given matter does not seem right to me at all. Shouldn’t everyone be far passed a woman’s life being worth five goats? Five goats are not going to replace a daughter, a sister or a friend it is a poor attempt at compensation, one that could seem insulting in away.

To me this idea is morally wrong, maybe the question shouldn’t be over if only humans possess morality but if every human does. Its matters like these that make me think that Morality is at least somewhat based on social surroundings, what you are taught are right and wrong. Because to these people that was a fair price to pay but it me it is not.

Ariel M.