What are human nature ethics?

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Human beings are social animals, preprogrammed to live in a group environment whether it be a family, a community or a national unit. Apart from physical mastery of their body, people develop skills to facilitate communication and a complex series of values and mores that are the result of the evolution of human society. These values provide people with the skills and values needed to ensure smooth interaction between individuals and their ability to function and play their roles in society. These moral and value systems can be codified under the general term of human nature ethics.

Until recently, individual social groupings and societies held that their specific ethical system was the correct one. Conflicting ethical systems, often based on a differing belief system, were seen as aberrant and abnormal. On many occasions, the conflict between different human ethical systems led to violent conflict. One such example is the Crusades when European Christianity and Middle East Islam fought for the dominance of their own ethical system over the other. The Second World War is another clear example of one ethical system (Nazism) attempting to impose its value system on others.

Today it is almost universally accepted that there is no universal morality. Each society develops its own ethical and moral standards. It becomes evident that in nature, there is no moral or ethical system in force but rather a collection of forces and imperatives that have, over the millions of years of evolution, worked together to bring mankind to the position it is in today.

Some researchers have suggested that the human race is at a definitive point in the development of human ethics. On the one hand, there is a strong and growing humanistic viewpoint that holds the view that people are responsible for developing a moral and ethical system and its implementation. On the other hand, sociological and anthropological research also suggests that the number of people subscribing to an ethical system based on the premise of a higher deity or God, is also growing. Many point to this growth as being one of the focal points for social conflict on an international scale. Believers in a specific human ethical system are convinced that their beliefs are universal and should be adopted by all.

There are questions as to whether one of these belief systems obtain precedence or will humanity manage to develop a universal ethical system that allows people from differing ethical system to co-exist. Many academics postulate that while humanity as a whole may be ready to adopt a universally acceptable human ethical code, far too many conflicts remain unsolved both on a local and national level to make the formulation and adoption of such a system a reality.

When attempting to reach a consensus regarding universal ethical values, there is often a conflict between what is desirable and what is practical. For example, many societies accept the idea that capital punishment is unethical. An alternative deterrent and punishment regime must be devised. But there still exist societies that have yet to reach this consensus. The establishment of a universal ethic that decries capital punishment is, as yet, unattainable.

Resource by Will

I am the editor for TheFreeResource.com, and owner of LinchpinSEO, a small business content creation company. The Free Resource has a select community of talented writers, teachers, and business people (and we are always looking for more) that bring you the most trusted resources on the web and credible articles about many topics.

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