Quote:
Originally Posted by cardboard adolescent
so the horrible vicious behavior stems from social standardization rather than the propensity for evil within the individuals? these things have to start somewhere, you know. people were there before the religion, if the religion has bad things in it it's because the people put it there. if everyone has an innate moral propensity
it doesn't seem like the tribe would be able to hold together
under such amoral conditions
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No, when did I say that? Of course I realize that social standardization came after whatever started the immoral behavior to begin with, but suppose cannibalism was a reaction to extreme famine. Our survival instincts in this case would be forced to override our moral inclinations (perhaps we could describe this as a sort of temporary insanity), and after some time of living in these same conditions, the people there would basically become desensitized. After all, what good would it do them to live in extreme hunger and also feel guilty after every meal? As far as the tribe holding up, again, it would act in the same way as religion does (and perhaps they're one and the same) and smother the moral instincts of the tribe's members in favor of cultural traditions.