Moral Faculties of Humanity

DarwinÐ''s attempt to apply his theory of natural selection to the moral faculties of humanity is one that can be proved by abundance of evidence that we are shown within his writing The Decent of Man. We see how Darwin shows us natural selection in relation to animal but then how he can also so prominently apply this theory to man. Darwin's theory of natural selection can be linked to the morality of humans by showing us examples of soldiers at war always relying on the morality, trust and benevolent actions of others in order to survive. Firstly I will be discussing what natural selection is and how it has influenced a growth of morality in each of us. Secondly I will show how Darwin attempts to prove a relation between his theory of natural selection between man and beast. I will talk of the examples he gives and how he applies this to the morality of humanity. Lastly I will discuss how the greatest of traits are the traits which continue to be passed down from one generation to another and how survival of the fittest is a key requirement for the traits such as morality to become prominent.

Natural selection was developed by Charles Darwin as a theory that organisms adapt to better suit their changing environment. Over time small behavioural changes begin to form physical changes. The stronger and best adapted members of the species breed more and live longer; thus passing their genetic adaptation to the next generation who will in turn pass it on. Over time every member of the species will support the adaptation and will be better at surviving. Darwin says "When two tribes of primeval men, living in the same country, came into a competition, if the one tribe included a greater number of courageous, sympathetic and faithful members, who were always ready to warn each other of danger, to aid and defend each other, this tribe would without doubt succeed best and conquer the other" (Stevenson 165). Charles Darwin's convincing evidence that evolution occurs turned out to be very threatening to many Christians. They believed that people were created specially by God and that they have not changed biologically since the creation. Twelve years later, Darwin published a two-volume work entitled The Descent of Man, applying his basic theory to a straightforward comparison between the evolutionary nature of man and animals and how this related to the socio-political development of man and his perception of life. It is through the blind and aimless progress of natural selection that man has advanced to his present level in love, memory, attention, curiosity, imitation, reason and in knowledge of morals and religion.

Darwin makes great use of examples within the Decent of Man to show his point of view on relating natural selection within man to natural selection within beast and how morality takes on such an enormous role is continuing the significant trait. "It appears that even dogs appreciate encouragement, praise and blame The rudest savages feel the sentiment of glory as they clearly show by their habit of excessive boasting" (Stevenson 166). Darwin explains how the most powerful stimulus to the development of social values is praise and blame of our fellow men. Both of these traits are due to the instinct of sympathy and this instinct no doubt was naturally acquired. Darwin then proceeds to use an example of soldiers at war looking out for one another. He explains how if a man at war looks out for his fellow soldier, that man will likely return the favor of morality and in return home from war safe and sound. Darwin says "To do good unto others Ð'- to do unto others as ye would they should do unto you- is the foundation-stone of morality" (Stevenson 167). We see how theses traits become passed down from generation through generation and how this solely depends on the survival of each moral man. Because a man at war becomes moral and looks out for his fellow man each man survives and prolongs this survival gene for generations to come. We can then take a different approach on the subject to aid us in understanding how if a man at war were immoral, more men then not would in turn decease. Without each man looking out for another, men die and so do the survival traits that they carried with them. These men who do not watch over the lives of others or treat each man with benevolence and morality are the immoral men. "The habit of performing benevolent actions certainly strengthens the feelings of sympathy, which gives the first impulse to benevolent actions" (Stevenson 166). These men do not have a survival quality or characteristic that would allow them to survive things such as war. These immoral men die off and this in turn proves to be an underlying factor of Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. Darwin, as well shows how natural selection and survival of the fittest began focused on habitat and wildlife. We see how an animal just as with a human will adapt to its surroundings. In the winter an animal will develop a thicker coat and some may even store food during the cold months. In the spring these animals will shed their winter coat and will again enter the outside world. Just as an animal would, a man at war adapts to his surroundings by watching the back of the man next to him hoping that the man will return the favor and protect him from harm. This develops thrust and morality within both men and increases the likeliness of these traits being passed on to a later generation. More importantly this trust and morality increases the chances of survival which overall is a key factor in the passing down of traits and genes most important for the next generation.

The emergence of morality can be most easily assessed when we return to its primal state as a simple examiner of right and wrong. At this stage, only two options existed, good or bad, and life was based