Reference no: EM133418278

Thomas Huxley, Darwin's great defender, wrote, "Is it indeed, true, that the Poet, or the Philosopher, or the Artist whose genius is the glory of his age, is degraded from his high estate by the undoubted historical probability, not to say certainty, that he is the direct descendant of some naked and bestial savage... Is mother-love vile because a hen shows it, or fidelity base because dogs possess it?"

For this discussion consider the four stages in Darwin's theory of how a moral sense evolved:

• First, organisms developed a social instinct causing them to take pleasure in the company of others and bond together as closely related and associated individuals into society. The first social bond to evolve was undoubtedly between mother and offspring.
• In the second stage, animals evolved sufficient intellect to recall instances when the social instincts such as feeding one's offspring went unsatisfied in order to satisfy stronger urges such as hunger or sexual drive. Memory was a crucial aspect of intelligence. A mother might have abandoned her baby, but if she remembered that she did so, this would set up a conflict between different urges and could become the basis of a conscience.
• The development of language in the third stage enabled early humans to become sensitized to mutual needs and to codify principles of their behavior.
• Finally, habit would come to shape the conduct of individuals so even concerning small matters, acting in light of the wishes of the community would become, in a sense, second nature.

 Do chicken pets think? Do they know right from wrong? Do they show similar emotions to humans? If the chickens were getting attacked by a hawk and the chicken ran together to protect them, arguing for a particular position in light of what both Darwin and Huxley wrote. This is to explore the question of how animal behavior might provide insight into the evolution of morality.

In your answer you might want to consider one or more of these questions: 

• How does this relate to the four stages in Darwin's theory of how a moral sense evolved?
• Do you think evolutionary theory can provide guidelines to developing a moral code? Why or why not?
• What is the relationship between instinct and learned behavior?