I think this article from Filosofem.com has a good theory. These moral concepts are ways for the weak and feeble to survive amongst the strong.
Good and Evil
Essay by A. Xeraxis
Good and evil are two of the most well respected forces on Earth. Many strive to become the servant of one, or both, and some use the terms to their advantage by fooling others into believing that they are of the ‘good’ category, and by threatening them into fearing the ‘evil’ category. Many religions employ the concept of good and evil to their advantage in this manner. It is a very clever idea, in fact, that those who are weaker, might claim to have insight into something that is far more powerful than their enemies. Their enemies will then think twice before they strike. In modern religion, it is apparently not wise to sin, for if one does so, then they will eventually end up in a place such as Hell, and be condemned to suffer eternally. This, of course, is the method that the oppressors use to gain control of the masses, and it works brilliantly. Instead of using physical force to convince others to follow them, they use fear. The word ‘sin’ is really only another term for rebellion against the oppressors. After thousands of years of belief in the concept of good and evil, it has become an accepted truth, and is no longer questioned. The concept, however, is extremely flawed.
In the early stages of human evolution, we were simply another race of animals. We spent all of our time finding food, water, shelter and suitable mates who would provide us with children. Over time, we developed the need for, and the understanding of, power. We also realized the potential of power, and sought to use it. Some used physical activity to demand respect, but others, who were weaker in this way, eventually found other means. What these individuals found, was empathy, and specifically, empathy in others. If they could cause another to feel regret for their actions, then they could avoid being attacked by many, and even seek aid from those who would have otherwise destroyed them. Eventually, standards were formed, which society lived by as a whole, and in this way, the weaker were protected from two things. They were protected from others in their society, and they were also protected from nature. Now that this new set of social principals had been formed, they needed a name. The name was ethics, and eventually, it became socially and legally unacceptable for humans to live without them.
Around the same time as the development of ethics, humans began to question their existence. They began to ask how it was that they had come to live as they were doing, and why. More importantly, they sought to find immortality, or reassurance that their lives would not amount to nothing when they died. Often, when humans become separated from their parents, or from other caretakers, they are not strong enough to be self-content in a world where they are so alone. In order to comfort themselves, they may begin to imagine that there are other, more powerful creatures who look after them. This idea also answers previously unanswerable questions, such as the origin of being, and comforts weaker humans by providing them with immortality, or ‘life after death’. Especially in the undeveloped Earth, where Science is scarce, religion can be the only possibly answer, and so, it becomes the accepted truth. While some see religion as answers to their questions, and as comfort for their problems, others see it slightly differently. They, still longing for power, see religion as a suitable tool for providing them with it, and they realize that when religion and ethics are combined, something else is created. Morals are created.
Morals, similarly to ethics, are rules by which people ‘should’ live by, which dictate the line between right and wrong. The difference is that morals are often enforced by religious beliefs, and by superstition. By using morals, the weaker could protect themselves from the stronger, by creating rules, which the stronger would be forced to live by, due to superstition, and due to their empathy for others. These morals served, also, to give the weak enough power, that they could eventually take control of millions of people, and force upon those people, their own set of rules, or, as this set of rules is also called, religion. In order to enforce a ‘right’ way of living upon people, though, there needed to be a ‘wrong’ way of living, which could be frowned upon, and feared. Due to the unforgiving tendencies of nature, and of its product, chaos, these became the foundations of the wrong way of life. It is morally wrong to kill others, and it is morally wrong to take from others in order to benefit yourself. It is morally right to keep the weaker members of society alive, rather than let them die, like nature would have, which was morally wrong. It is morally wrong to lie and to deceive, and to steal, and it is morally wrong to hate. Some of the rules, which were more important to the weak, became more important rules to everyone, and they were given the name of ‘sin’ by many religions. Once sin had been established, the ‘evil’ way of life had been established, and so had the reasons for avoiding evil. In much of the western world, these reasons were Hell, the punishment, and Satan, the frightener. All of these things became embedded in the structure of society, so that, regardless of religious status, the morals and ethics were the right way, even though they are the unnatural way, and the natural, chaotic way, became the wrong way.
Why do people listen to and abide by these morals, though? If a truthful individual was to consider them for long enough, they would surly see that it is personally detrimental to abide by them. For the morals serve as a barrier that protects the weak from the strong, and from the natural course of the universe. Humans are being fooled into protecting the weak, and by doing so, are weakening themselves. Certainly it is all right for one human to protect another who he or she loves or likes, but the current moral code insists that all humans must help each other. It also insists that killing is wrong. Why is it wrong, though? The reasons for this statement are basic. It is wrong to kill another human being because “how would you feel if you were in that situation.” The answer to this is often “I will be in that situation if I help that individual”, and this is, alone, a very important answer, but I would suggest that another, equally important answer is “Because it does not benefit me to help them.”
In nature, which we are, contrary to certain modern beliefs, certainly a part of, we can see plainly before our eyes that one creature will help another, if it benefits it personally. Obviously, we are a little more intelligent as humans, than many other animals are, but this applies to us also, and I would argue that it has been wrongfully given the title of ‘evil’, when in fact, if we were to live this way, we would be a far stronger race. In fact, by keeping the weaker alive, we are defying nature. When we waste our time, and our energy, and our resources, and our technology, on keeping alive the weak, we are slowly becoming the weak. Soon, if we are not already, we will all be weak, and we will all be miserable.
‘Evil’, as it is used in everyday modern life, relates mostly to personally beneficial and positive things, which cause others to be at a disadvantage. Indulgence, for example, is a sin that is often associated with Satan, or the ‘Devil’, but what is it actually? Indulgence is a positive thing for the indulger, but for others, there may be less of the indulged substance left afterwards, which they themselves might have otherwise indulge in. So it now becomes clear that Christianity, Judaism and other modern religions, which use good and evil to their advantage, are simply fooling people into disadvantaging themselves, so that others might benefit from it. Do you really want to live and die as a peon of this counterproductive society?
In conclusion, I will say that I believe good and evil are non-existent, and that in fact, humans created both, in order to gain power, and in order to achieve comfort from false realities. In nature, there is no good and there is no evil. There is no positive, and there is no negative.
There is only chaos.
