The Undermining Effect of the Theory of Evolution On Human Morality

By Qingyuan

(Clearwisdom.net) Nowadays when people talk about the theory of evolution, they consider it a part of biology. As a matter of fact, the reach of the theory of evolution has far exceeded the field of biology.

If a theory can improve or maintain the basic morality of society, we may call it a righteous theory. If a theory undermines human morality, then this theory should undoubtedly be regarded as being a wicked one. This article attempts to elaborate on the impact of the theory of evolution on humankind.

The major difference between human beings and animals is that humans are bound by ethics. The theory of evolution essentially undermines human ethics, which have been passed down generation after generation for thousands of years, and it promotes the bad side of human nature, that of selfishness and the pursuit of self-interest.

In the past few thousands years of history, Westerners truly believed that gods created human beings, that God created Heaven and Earth, whereas in the East, people believed, "in early days, people's nature was kind," and "divine beings are just three inches above your head." Chinese Confucianism is centered around "how people cultivate their bodies and value virtue." Morality Scripture has many words, but it's essence is "follow Heaven and cherish virtue." A story with which people may be familiar talks about Confucius carefully studying Zhou Yi (an ancient Chinese text) in order to improve his morality and level of cultivation. Which is to say, for many years, people believed that one should emphasize the benign side of human nature, whereas the demon nature of our human self, demonstrated as being selfish and pursuing self-interest, is understood as the ugly side of human nature. Historically, people have been taught to put effort into eliminating this ugly side. "Cultivating ourselves, governing the country, and making the world peaceful" refers to subduing the evil nature of human beings, in order to cultivate to be a noble and well-mannered person. Respecting one's parents and being loyal to one's country are human behaviors with deep historical roots. Under the binding force of human basic morality, people are not as susceptible to being influenced by their demon nature; the kind side of human nature will thus play the leading role. This enables society to progress normally and in a healthy way, and prolongs human civilization.

What the theory of evolution has people believe--from a biological perspective--is that humans "evolved" from animals. So, fundamentally, what it did was to have people ignore their own true origins and Buddha nature. When this happens, one turns to the other side and unknowingly accepts to opposite, that human nature is animalistic, selfish and unrestrained. Under the influence of desire, people came up with words and actions to describe human nature that go against human morality. Desires are treated as part of an inescapable "nature." Human morality, which has prevailed for thousands of years, has become marginalized. The idea of "Good is rewarded with good, and evil meets with retribution," which had been upheld through history, became something hard to feel or sense, so it lost its place. Morality lost its effect in restraining people's evil nature, and people lost the most basic notions of morality. To satisfy their unlimited desire has become the impetus of many people. When people's demon nature gained the upper hand, that's when human morality began to completely deteriorate.

The detrimental effect of the theory of evolution on human beings has far exceeded what has been described above. Its core concept of "survival of the fittest" encouraged modern people to find ground for their deviated notions and excuses for their deterioration, enabling them to go against their consciences. Under this theory, "survival" has almost become the only meaning of life, which means, as long as you can survive in what is described as an inherently cruel environment, you are the winner, no matter what kind of approach you take. Other notions followed, such as "If you don't beat him down, he will beat you down;" "If a person is not after self-interest, heaven and earth will remove him," and so on. Notions that represent the evil, demon nature of humanity, selfishness and the pursuit of self-interest, have replaced the traditional concepts of the human morality.

In such a society where this theory is predominant, the emphasis is on being the "fittest", regardless of things like kindness and compassion. A person who thinks of others all the time and contributes to society quietly, and a person who improves his moral standards, is not praised but rather pushed down, often to the point of losing their basic living space. A saying in China -- "laughing at the poor instead of the prostitutes" -- has emerged, where it is implied that wealth and power are much more important than morality. Even mafia leaders have become role models and heroes. Let's think about the saying "early bird gets the worm," is the implication that birds who get up late end up dying of hunger? Is that right? In a real life setting, even though a person desperately strives for his own self-interest with no consideration of the means he adopts, can he necessarily achieve his goals?

Influenced by the theory of evolution, many people are most preoccupied with how to make themselves more competitive. When they found that people who are honest and law-abiding were easily taken advantage of, they made themselves out to be very cunning in order to "keep up with the ever-changing trend." Everyone is bending their values for a little more perceived personal gain. Seldom is there anyone who dares to challenge whether moral implication is right or not. Under such an environment, many parents are focusing so much attention on how to make their child adjust to this "competitive society." The schools' education doesn't emphasize ethics and only counts academic achievement. Therefore, students in China nowadays have to study day and night. Their parents can see this situation and know that it's not right, but can't help them. Many hate the current way of education and desperately want to lesson the students' burdens, but all of their hopes are riding on this academic measure of success.

Many have lost themselves in competition and spend all of their time and energy running around in circles in pursuit of something. Even for those who have gained the upper hand, they don't have a moment of real peace. In addition, they have to watch out for the competition behind them! People feel that they are leading such arduous lives and are worn out. They are struggling under the concept of "survival of the fittest" in order to gain a foothold in a society where morality has completely deteriorated. People are hurting one another in order to win, and they do whatever it takes, even if it is wicked. Social problems spring up one after another and human morality has declined to this dreadful stage. Even the natural environment, being the indispensable part of human life, has suffered from unprecedented destruction.

Therefore, we need to completely abandon the theory of evolution in our society and rebuild human morality. This has become a responsibility that can't be shirked, because it affects each one of us and the generations that come after us.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/6/7/156385.html

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