by Steve James on Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:18 pm
I think I know what you're getting at, but I disagree that animals can exhibit "moral values." For ex., many, if not most, animal mothers will fight larger, stronger opponents on behalf of their offspring. Some animals might protect members of the same species with no relation, or even members of different species. But, selflessness isn't, in itself, an exhibition of any particular moral value. Well, are "homicide bombers" exhibiting moral values? Anyway, I think for someone/thing to exhibit moral behavior, it has to know that what it is doing is moral or not. Mothers protecting their children is instinctual behavior. Iow, a dolphin can rescue a drowning swimmer, but to qualify as a moral act, the dolphin must at least know that saving swimmers is the "right" thing to do. In fact, that might be true ... but we can't tell.
"A man is rich when he has time and freewill. How he chooses to invest both will determine the return on his investment."