Which came first the morals or the egg?

How do we learn right from wrong?  Is our human morality a genetic trait following the patterns of evolution?  Or are we born as nothing more than an amoral being and like a sponge, soak up our moral attitudes from our environment?

In school as we begin studying human development and psychology we're taught the thoughts of those like Freud, Piaget, and Kohlberg who espouse the theory that humans are born as simply an amoral animal, that humans have no sense of right or wrong until they are taught by experience and environment.  Obviously we are affected by our environment and our morals and ethics are definitely shaped by parents, community, and culture but is there more?

Are we born with some level of discernment of good and bad, right and wrong?  Professor Paul Bloom from Yale says yes.

Babies possess certain moral foundations — the capacity and willingness to judge the actions of others, some sense of justice, gut responses to altruism and nastiness. Regardless of how smart we are, if we didn’t start with this basic apparatus, we would be nothing more than amoral agents, ruthlessly driven to pursue our self-interest.

In this article his article,  The Moral Life of Babies, he describe the studies that have been done in the area of inherent morals in babies.  Babies were put in different scenarios demonstrating people receiving help and being hindered in different actions and the babies were observed for their reaction.  Its a very interesting article.  I don't think it really answers the question completely though.  It may show that inherently as we are born we have a sense of right and wrong but it doesn't explain the foundation of right and wrong.  How does the baby "know" that the helper produces a better response than the hinderer?

On Barbara O'Brien Blog, she explain the Buddhist view of morality:

The Buddhist view is that moral behavior flows naturally from mastering one's ego and desires and cultivating loving kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna).

 The foundation teaching of Buddhism, expressed in the Four Noble Truths, is that the stress and unhappiness of life (dukkha) is caused by our desires and ego-clinging. The "program," if you will, for letting go of desire and ego is the Eightfold Path. Ethical conduct -- through speech, action and livelihood -- is part of the path, as are mental discipline -- through concentration and mindfulness -- and wisdom.

So basically I think our morals are a bit innate.  Not in the instinctual sense but in the fact that as we are closer to our pure subtle mind, we are naturally a more moral being.  As we succumb to the afflictions of samsaric existence we must learn and train ourselves to return to that clear light mind and hence return to our inherent moral behavior.  What do you think?

Every Day is a Lesson

This morning, while reading through blogs, I found a new posting from one of my favorite writers on Open Salon, Steve Blevins.  He posted a funny, insightful story entitled "Why I'm Happy".  His tongue-in-cheek humor made for an entertaining trip to Walmart.

First up, was the woman in front of him in the check out line that is distressed and furious after reading the People magazine in front of her - she's upset about the Sandra Bullock and Jessie James relationship.  Steve reveals to her that he doesn't know either of them and turns to the man behind him.  He, too, is upset because he's going to miss the LeBron James decision show since he's waiting in line at Walmart.  Steve again is clueless about the details.  When he gets to the check out clerk, who is very upset and punching the keys of the cash register, he asks her what's wrong and is told that she is tired of her daughter's obsession with Justin Beiber.  Clueless again.  So he leaves:

Walking away, I thought about the unhappy people at Walmart. They all had something in common: Each of them knew something I didn't -- and what they knew was causing them distress. 

That's when the epiphany hit. I had unwittingly stumbled upon the key to happiness: Happiness doesn't come from money, fame, or good looks. It doesn't come from love or genes or a positive attitude. 

Happiness comes from not knowing what the hell is going on. 

Ignorance truly is bliss. That's why stupid people are happier than smart people: They lack vital information.

That's where I said out loud, "Wait that's not right.  You just illustrated the second Noble Truth".  

The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof. --The Big View

The second truth states the cause of dukkha, which is craving-attachment, stemming from ignorance into the nature of reality.-- Lama Surya Das

Yep, right there on Open Salon a little lesson in the causes of suffering even though the conclusion was a bit off.  Ignorance, you see, is NOT bliss it's just ignorance and happiness doesn't come from ignorance, it comes from its opposite: understanding. Understanding that grasping at things that aren't reflective of reality results in true happiness.