The source of morality

A long conversation with a friend over the weekend brought up several interesting issues. One, in particular, revolved around the source of our morality. The thread began with a consideration of what I would do if I were completely convinced that there was no eternal human soul, that once I died at the end of this life on earth there was nothing beyond - if, in other words, I were convinced that this material world was all there was, and that I had just this one life here to do whatever I could.

Now in my opinion, if i truly believed that, the only logical thing to do would be to not exhibit qualities such as goodness, kindness, or any values beyond what was profitable to me in a purely hedonistic way. All I would do would be to try and maximize my material happiness in the course of this life, and not worry about other human beings, about the future of the world, future generations etc. Seems brutally selfish, doesn't it? And kind of unreal - after all, couldn't it be argued that there is something inherent in us that makes us want to do good? That would push us to be moral even if one didn't have to think of how it affected the development of an "eternal soul" beyond this life? Yes, it could be argued as such - in fact, we only need to look around us to realize this is true. For there are a lot of people in this world who are good, nice, moral people - but have no belief in God or a transcendent reality whatsoever. So surely we don't need God to be moral?

On the surface of it, no. But let's take a closer look? Where did all these people get their values from? Probably from their parents, and the social conditions prevailing around them. Where'd their parents get their values from? From their parents. And so on. And so the morals I hold today are not necessarily just linked to the person I am, but also to my entire history, and the history of society. And the origins of these morals in history - and here's where I throw in my $0.02 - I contend, can be found in the teachings of the Manifestations of God over the ages. It is these teachings, I believe, that have propelled society to an understanding of these morals and values, to a point where today, these values can be taken for granted and separated from their original source almost completely. To a point where today we naturally feel "good" when we exemplify these virtues, without necessarily being aware of the source of that feeling.

Is there any way to prove this? Of course not :) But it does give me a way to explain the development of qualities such as love, kindness, faith, trust, generosity, humility and so on, many of which seem unnecessary, and even harmful from an evolutionary point of view. And it gives me a reason for what might prompt a human being to choose to commit actions that might seem detrimental to his material well-being - because they do help him progress spiritually.

An atheistic view in many cases, therefore, cannot really be separated from the theism that has engendered those views in the first place. By the time we grow up and are mature enough to think about these things, and decide we have our own views on them, our nature and our beliefs have already been formed by many external influences - some of which come down to us from over the ages. And it is necessary, in my opinion, to be aware of the presence of these influences before we attribute our morality to any particular source.