Brother Yukio

Fareed Zakaria's "The Post-American World".

Agreed. Although we aren't born with the 10 Commandments burned into our brains, we are born with social abilities. Most people are, but not all. Some animals, like horses and dogs, are more social and travel in herds or packs. Others are more solitary and spend their time alone except during mating season. Humans can be loners, but most often they are social creatures.In a social setting, those human beings with the highest level of social skills, specifically things like communication and leadership, will achieve the highest level of success in a society. In a violent dog-eat-dog world as boteomm describes, a society of 10 human beings working together has a better chance of survival against predators than a solitary human being who has no use for his fellow man.

You are confusing a pacifist society with one where the members work peaceably with one another out of a need for survival. There is nothing stopping them from defending themselves if attacked. You describe a society where might makes right and the biggest dog gets all the meat. While that model will indeed result in the strongest and most wily individual surviving, as a society it would eventually fail. A more survivable society follows the Dalton rule of "be nice until it's time to not be nice."

Do you mean it's an artificial and arbitrary construct? Some "rules" are, but basic social morality seems to be more of an evolutionary development in order to maximize the survivability of the human tribe. After all, if everyone was killing each other over firewood and berries, the entire tribe would eventually die out. "Tribes" where people get along due to an innate social behavior such as respect for others, have a better chance of survival.

This best fits my own view. I'd interject "without their consent" after "another adult". Since children and those incapable of adult volition cannot consent, they'd be covered too. I noticed some said doing oneself harm was immoral. Anyone want to take a stab at explaining this? I can see how some might consider suicide immoral, I do not believe it to be immoral. Silly maybe, but not immoral. Would getting a tattoo or piercing be considered immoral? Spending beyond one's means? Gluttony?