1. MORALITY AS A HUMAN CONSTRUCT
HUMANISM - KS3
The aims of this presentation are:
to explore the question of where we get our sense of morality from, and
to examine some of the reasons why humanists amongst others believe that our sense of morality has natural, rather than supernatural origins.

2. How much do animals know about right and wrong?
Explain that many humanists believe that we have a natural sense of justice and empathy for our fellow human beings, and that this has developed as part of our evolution; a moral sense can be observed in all humans and also in apes, monkeys and some other animals. Point out that vampire bats, for example, share blood (food) with each other, rather than keep it to themselves!
Do the students have pets that have a sense of right and wrong? Is it something that can be observed in the higher primates such as apes?
Can they give examples of how such a sense of morality shows itself?
Humanists might argue that with greater intelligence, humans have developed morality to a higher standard than other animals. We can use reason and our power of speech to negotiate with each other to decide what is fair and to establish the moral standards that we should agree to adopt for the benefit of all.
Gather some thoughts from the students on the following question: If it is true that that a sense of right and wrong has been built in to our nature and that we can improve morality through reason, how exactly could morality have evolved?
Point out the SOCIAL nature of people and animals.

3. Why should I consider others?
‘Myself, I think the only possible answer is the humanist one – because we are naturally social beings; we live in communities; and life in any community, from the family outwards, is much
Ask the students to consider this statement from a well-known humanist, Margaret Knight.
How far do they agree?
happier, and fuller, and richer if the members are friendly and co-operative than if they are hostile and resentful.’
Margaret Knight, humanist and psychologist (1903 – 1983)

4. Nature “red in tooth and claw”
Man, her last work, who seem’d so fair,
Such splendid purpose in his eyes,
Who roll’d the psalm to wintry skies,
Who built him fanes of fruitless prayer,
Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation’s final law-
Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shriek’d against his creed-
Who loved, who suffer’d countless ills, Who battled for the True, the Just, Be blown about the desert dust,
Or seal’d within the iron hills?
Show this slide of lions gathered around their ‘kill’ and explain that much that we see in nature seems to be very cruel.
Do students know of other examples?
Explain that many humanists find that the ‘cruelty’ apparent in nature makes it hard for them to believe in a loving and ‘benevolent’ God.
Ask them if they know where the saying “Nature red in tooth and claw” comes from.
Explain that Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem that is often seen as a counter to Mrs Alexander’s hymn, ‘All things bright and beautiful’.
Click the slide on to see three verses from Tennyson’s poem for a friend who had died suddenly, In Memoriam A.H.H. [Note: a ‘fane’ is a temple or shrine and ‘ravine’ refers to a wild animal’s ‘prey’.]
Read the verses and ask the students to reflect on their meaning. Who is the ‘her’ in the first line? [Nature]. Does Tennyson believe that love is creation’s final law? Where do human beings appear to end up, according to the poem?

5. “Evolution can only produce selfishness and violence!”
Show this slide to reveal a topic for debate and ask the students to reflect and to talk in pairs about evolution and morality.
Gather some views and point out that people, and most apes and monkeys, live in social groups and have a highly developed morality towards others. Even lions do not eat each other (most of the time). But when a new male takes over a pride he usually kills any cubs sired by his predecessor. This would be very bad in human morality, but seems to be OK in lion morality! Can we see why this behaviour might have evolved?
Remind students that evolution is at least partly a product of survival and reproduction. Have they brought out the idea that the people and animals that co-operate with their neighbours are more likely to survive that those who are selfish and violent?

6. The Co-operation Game Player 2 Co-operate Defect Player 1 8/8 0/10
10/0
2/2
This is the cooperation game. Players can decide to cooperate or defect.
Explain the rules of the game: Students will play the game in pairs.  
If both players cooperate, each will receive 8 points, but, if both defect, each will receive 2 points. So it seems a good idea to cooperate perhaps?
But, if one player cooperates when the other defects, that player will get 10 points and the other one will get nothing.
Provide students with two postcards each – and to write ‘Co-operate’ on one and ‘Defect’ on the other.
Explain that they are going to be in pairs and they will have 5 goes at scoring points, as indicated on this slide, but they must not communicate with each other in advance: no talking or signalling!
Make it clear that if your opponent is going to cooperate, your best selfish move is to defect, because then you get 10 points instead of 8. And if your opponent is going to defect, your best move is also to defect, because then you get 2 points instead of zero. So, whatever your opponent is going to do, it looks as though it is better to defect (and you know that your opponent is making exactly the same calculation)!
For each round, each student chooses whether to co-operate or defect and at a given sign, they reveal their choice. Ask the students to keep their score as they go along.
Gather the students’ comments at the end of the 5th round. What actually happened? Which pair scored best overall and why? Did tactics change from round to round depending on whether there was a feeling of mutual trust? Did anyone try to build up trust and then defect at the end? If so, what might happen next time you play the game with them?
Point out that this game is a great simplification of the complex relationships between co-operating and competing humans, but it tells us something. If there is morality and trust between players, everyone can do a lot better. It is not true that nice guys always lose!
Explain that some computer simulations have been made of a population of players who can remember what a partner did last time and can decide whether to cooperate or not. In the simulation, at the end of each round each player reproduces more, if it has more points, or dies out if it has not enough points. After a number of rounds, only the trustworthy co-operators remain!

7. Where does our sense of right and wrong come from?
The Big Question
Where does our sense of right and wrong come from?
Return to the Big Question and ask the students whether they are impressed with the idea that cooperation, our sense of natural justice and our sense of right and wrong are hard wired into our brains from our evolutionary past, because we appear to be better off by having a moral sense.
Explain that although many religious believers would go along with this, humanists would say that this is ALL there is behind our sense of morality. That is to say, there is no creative act of God involved in providing us with such a sense, nor is there any moral sense ‘inherited’ from a soul or spirit that has lived a previous life or lives.
Point out that, sadly, neither evolution nor God has turned us into perfect saints.
Although selfish behaviour will make everyone worse off in the long run, the temptation to be selfish remains within us.
To have a good moral system we have to work at it. Some of this is achieved by systems of enforcement, though religions often try to persuade people to behave well through the teaching and example of some key individuals or communities. For humanists, though, such examples are not divinely inspired and no one has special access to some kind of ‘ultimate truth’.
Rather, it is human beings alone that have devised the laws, codes of conduct, contracts, fences, locked doors, passwords, police forces and many other ways of attempting to ensure good behaviour.
Ask the students for their ideas on making our world a better place to live in. Rather like the co-operation game that we have just looked at, do they not agree that everyone will be worse off on average, if we do not co-operate? What questions do they want to ask about such dilemmas? How might this ‘game’ play out when applied to our treatment of the environment, for example?
Learning Outcomes: Students:
ask important questions about social issues and suggest what might happen depending on different moral choices;
make links between some texts and symbols from religion and belief and guidance on how to live a good life.

8. To follow up ideas about the sense of morality, students could take a look at Stephen Fry’s sketch pad commentary on ‘What makes something right or wrong?’ at:
Other useful background reading: Peter Singer, ‘Expanding the Circle’.
To go deeper into questions about morality, students could go on to consider such questions as:
Is all altruism basically selfish or are there any acts of altruism that do not benefit us in some way? Does it matter if there aren’t?
Will there be a moral breakdown in society if people turn away from religion?
If human civilisation evolved all over again, many humanists believe it unlikely that the same religions would develop, but very likely that our basic moral principles would be the same. Do you agree?