Objective moral values and Altruism.

I know people who see the presence of objective moral values or even altruism as a proof that there is a being of some description outside of ourselves.  Their point goes like this:  The very fact that we recognise good and bad demonstrates the reality of a moral God.  The fact that we sometimes do things that are of no benefit to ourselves (altruism) demonstrated the existence of a moral, ethical even altruistic God.

The argument in my opinion has some merit but is left wanting in a few areas.

Is it possible that morals and ethical standards are beneficial, even essential for our survival?  Is it possible that altruism, which is supposedly selfless, is in fact a subtle form of self preservation?

Humans are not the only creatures that practice selfless behaviours.  The animal kingdom is full of examples.  The mother of many species will risk her life to protect her young.  Some creatures sacrifice their lives in order to promote the life of their kind.  I saw an example of this recently, where a spider allows her young to consume and kill her.  

I have to question my own "alleged altruistic behaviours" and challenge the idea that it is not really totally selfless.  I have been able to identify many instances in life where I have performed "selfless" deeds but on further analysis have revealed a payoff for me or my family.

The instincts of self preservation run deep within our beings and it may be that many of the actions we think are selfless, are in fact behaviours that ensure our ultimate survival.

Few would disagree that selfish behaviours are far more prevalent than selfless behaviour.  Regardless of that fact let's consider a couple of ideas about selfless behaviour.  Firstly, there are these types of actions that are centred towards our own families and secondly, those that are toward non family.  For obvious reasons selfless behaviours directed at our family makes good biological sense.  Quite simply, purely self centred behaviour would not be good for the continued life of the human species.  Although the presence of altruism may be seen as a good argument for the existence of a God it also seems an equally, if not better argument, for the evolutionary factor to preserve and promote human life.

Altruism exists in animals too.  Some might not call it that, however self sacrifice and altruism are closely linked.  Take the plight of the male preying mantis, red back or black widow spiders who give their lives for the propagation of their species.  Dying to give life to others is the object of these love rituals.  It is for this reason that I find the presence of Altruistic behaviour to be something not peculiar to humans but a part of survival and the future of our species.  At one level it looks like this behaviour is unproductive and wasteful, but at a higher level it often promotes life and extends it beyond our imagination.

What do you think?