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<\/a>Let\u2019s be honest. Of these three, which is most likely to cause our blood to boil? I suspect that most of us would answer three<\/em>. Our degree of aggrivation about something like this, or the slightly slow driver in front of us, tends to be far greater than in the case of serious injustices or genuine tragedies. We get upset about minor things that affect us directly, more than about major things that affect others in ways we can scarcely imagine.<\/p>\nChristianity historically spoke about the fallenness of human nature. Rabbinic Judaism spoke of good and evil impulses<\/a>. In light of the best scientific understanding of human beings available, it is better to talk about our evolutionary heritage and our instincts. It is not clear that any other beings on this planet can reflect in the way humans can about those instincts, and can decide that some instincts should not be followed for moral reasons. For us humans, however, it is possible to reflect on our instincts, and in this case to identify an underlying selfishness behind our reactions to different scenarios. And even if we cannot eliminate the instinct (indeed, as Rabbinic Judaism maintained, the \u201cevil impulse\u201d was necessary for life, and was only evil when it wasn\u2019t kept in check), we can decide to reject the instinctual response and adopt a different one.<\/p>\n In demythologized or updated form, the religious perspective offers something important, I believe. It draws to our attention that there are instincts that will lead us to certain ends if we follow them, and it further emphasizes that humans who have chosen to cultivate a morality that at times overrides those instincts have found the resulting approach to life far more rewarding, satisfying and fulfilling than the alternative.<\/p>\n