{"id":396,"date":"2009-06-01T21:20:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-01T20:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-a-more-moral-society-an-excerpt-from-the-evolution-of-god.html"},"modified":"2014-11-13T18:22:51","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T17:22:51","slug":"globalisation-makes-more-moral-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html","title":{"rendered":"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from ‘The Evolution of God’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God<\/span>. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Atlantic Monthly has published an excerpt<\/a>, which takes a look at the origins of Christianity through the lens of the modern marketing industry. It\u2019s quite a cute angle, if all a bit vapid if you look too closely.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the bit that caught my eye. It\u2019s towards the end, where Wright talks about how moral good emerges from enlightened self interest.<\/p>\n

\u2026 history expands the range of non-zero-sum relationships\u2014relationships in which two parties can both win if they collaborate, or lose if they don\u2019t. Technological evolution (wheels, roads, cuneiform, alphabets, trains, microchips) has placed more and more people in non-zero-sum relationship with more and more other people at greater and greater distances\u2014and often across ethnic, national, and religious bounds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What he\u2019s arguing here is we as a society are more moral these days than we were in the past, even the recent past. And the reason for this is that society is so much more tightly integrated. These days we have so much more to lose, and so much more to gain, by assuming liberty, equality and fraternity.<\/p>\n

All this is very relevant to discussion of where morality comes from. Theologians argue that if God does not exist, then there\u2019s no rational basis for morality. Clearly, that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

And if Wright is right, then not only can morality be supported without recourse to God, but our moral society grew naturally from the rational application of common sense. Religion bought into this, but didn\u2019t originate it.<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________________________________________________
\"Creative<\/a><\/span>This work by Tom Rees<\/a> is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews. The Atlantic Monthly has published an excerpt, which takes a look at the origins of Christianity through the lens of the modern marketing industry. It\u2019s quite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2091,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGlobalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Epiphenom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-01T20:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-13T17:22:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/i.creativecommons.org\/l\/by-sa\/2.0\/uk\/88x31.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Epiphenom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Epiphenom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html\",\"name\":\"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-01T20:20:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-13T17:22:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/98b4bf21daa886d9eb1d5f0e99643ad1\"},\"description\":\"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from ‘The Evolution of God’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/\",\"name\":\"Epiphenom\",\"description\":\"The science of religion and non-belief\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/98b4bf21daa886d9eb1d5f0e99643ad1\",\"name\":\"Epiphenom\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9abb71dca9f11ec59b77b1fffa487fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9abb71dca9f11ec59b77b1fffa487fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Epiphenom\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/author\/trees\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'","description":"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'","og_description":"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html","og_site_name":"Epiphenom","article_published_time":"2009-06-01T20:20:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-13T17:22:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/i.creativecommons.org\/l\/by-sa\/2.0\/uk\/88x31.png"}],"author":"Epiphenom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Epiphenom","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html","name":"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from 'The Evolution of God'","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-06-01T20:20:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-13T17:22:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/98b4bf21daa886d9eb1d5f0e99643ad1"},"description":"Robert Wright has a new book coming out, The Evolution of God. If you want to know more about it, Salman Hameed has an excellent round up of reviews.The","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/2009\/06\/globalisation-makes-more-moral-society.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Globalisation makes a more moral society? An excerpt from ‘The Evolution of God’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/","name":"Epiphenom","description":"The science of religion and non-belief","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/98b4bf21daa886d9eb1d5f0e99643ad1","name":"Epiphenom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9abb71dca9f11ec59b77b1fffa487fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9abb71dca9f11ec59b77b1fffa487fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Epiphenom"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/author\/trees"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2091"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/epiphenom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}