Pacal Boyer - The Origin Of Our Moral Intuition Escapes Us
[M]ost of our moral intuitions are clear but their origin escapes us, because it lies in mental processing that we cannot consciously access. Seeing these intuitions as someone's viewpoint is a simpler way of understanding why we have these intuitions. But this requires the concept of an agent with full access to strategic information.
[W]e know that religious codes and exemplars cannot literally be the origin of people's moral thoughts. These thoughts are remarkably similar in people with different religious concepts or no such concepts. Also, these thoughts naturally come to children, who would never link them to supernatural agency. Finally, even religious people's thoughts about moral matters are constrained by intuitions they share with other human beings, more than by codes and models.
[Far] from religious supporting morality, as we might think, what happens is that our intuitive moral thinking makes some religious concepts easier to acquire, store and communicate to others. The [religious] concepts are parasitic in the sense that their successful transmission is greatly enhanced by mental capacities that would be there, gods or no gods.
[W]e know that religious codes and exemplars cannot literally be the origin of people's moral thoughts. These thoughts are remarkably similar in people with different religious concepts or no such concepts. Also, these thoughts naturally come to children, who would never link them to supernatural agency. Finally, even religious people's thoughts about moral matters are constrained by intuitions they share with other human beings, more than by codes and models.
[Far] from religious supporting morality, as we might think, what happens is that our intuitive moral thinking makes some religious concepts easier to acquire, store and communicate to others. The [religious] concepts are parasitic in the sense that their successful transmission is greatly enhanced by mental capacities that would be there, gods or no gods.
Boyer, Pascal (2001) "Religion Explained" [pp.191--202]
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