Origin of Morality

How did man develop morality? What was the source of that morality - was it nature or nurture? There are theories on both sides of the coin. Some believe that humans are born with innate responses to moralistic situations, that there's a sense of fairness and caring that is hard-wired into our DNA. Others believe that our responses are taught by parents, groups, religion and society in general.

But there is a case that both are true. The example in The Righteous Mind that proves this point is the "elephant" and the "rider." In this scenario, the "elephant" represents the emotional region of the brain that reacts with an inborn response to questions of morality. For example, when a boy takes a ball away from another boy on the playground, the emotional response from the "elephant" would be that the boy was wrong to take the...