Evolutionary Theory and the Emergence of Moral Nature

The views of morality presented by evolutionary psychology and Christian theology are generally considered mutually exclusive. Love is central to the Christian message, but the self-sacrifice of Christian love seems incompatible with an evolutionary paradigm. This incompatibility, however, stems not from irreconcilable differences, but from an overextension and misapplication of the methodology of evolutionary psychology; no acknowledgement of the transcendent is possible, and morality becomes mere functionality. Within human phylogeny there is an evident ascent of freedom, mind, and moral awareness. This freedom, however, leads to greater interpersonal dependence and vulnerability, which both makes possible and makes necessary moral behavior. The crucial significance of moral conviction and motivation receives its complement and completion within the natural order in the revelation of love through the sacrificial death of Christ. The earthly and the transcendent are unified, as humanity is called into commun ion with a loving God. Therefore do not be anxious, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Matthew 7:31-2 Throughout the whole of biblical tradition there is an unmistabkable affirmation of the fundamental goodness and deep significance of the created world. The earth and its processes are seen as the setting of a spiritual drama of cosmic proportions where the moral dynamics of human life are recognized as a mirror of a larger meaning. Central to the significance of this drama, and at the heart of the human meaning of morality, is the concept of love. Life itself is lifted through its alignment with love, a relational existence of profound resonance with the very heart of God-self-giving, creative, at once both generous and generative. Indeed, from the first mention of man it is proclaimed that he is made "in the image of God" and the Gospel of John tells us, "God is love." Love is recognized at once as central to life, uniting the fullness and flourishing of earthly being with its transcendent and eternal significance. The kingdom of God is indeed the kingdom of love, and His righteousness is the right ordering of life, in alignment with the spirit of love. The meaning of morality is its role in the service of earthly life and alignment of that life with transcendent truths; it is at once circled and summed up by the concept of love. In the self-giving that is central to love, the individual locates the terms of completion in moving beyond self. Jesus, whose whole life may be seen as the manifestation of love, says plainly, "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." In contrast to the Christian understanding of the centrality of love in the moral meaning of life, emerging theories of the evolutionary origins of human psychology call into question the significance of the very category of morality and its relationship to transcendent truths. Building on the idea that evolution could preserve only that which works in the service of survival and reproduction, evolutionary psychology casts doubt on the possibility that the human mind is even capable of the clarity and conviction necessary for an authentic morality built on such an exalted idea as the genuine generosity and self-sacrifice of Christian love. These distinct concepts of the source and significance of human life and its moral meaning have produced a conflict of culture between our religious traditions and our scientific worldview. Notwithstanding the apparent incompatibility of these approaches, there may be a way to reframe our understanding of the evolution of morality such that the central claims of both perspectives are at once preserved and lifted to a higher and more integrated level of description. …