Biological evolution as the foundation of morality and ethics

A very frequent argument presented by religious folks is that there needs to be a basis for morality and ethical behavior, which religion claims to be. Most humans have very negative views of human nature and believe that most humans cannot act in a moral fashion without a specific set or rules. Religion provides such rules through terror, fear from eternal damnation, and egoistical desires, which the ideas of heaven and God's love provide with convincing images. Fundamentalists are especially hard on individuals who do not follow their respective set of laws, believing they are immoral and therefore justified for forced conversion or murder.

But there is a strong biological basis for morality and ethical behavior, which stands as the foundation of the survival of a species. Any species or group of animals that would conduct themselves without an ethical political behavior would extinguish itself, as inter-species competition is too strong to allow any group weakened by internal violence to survive in the natural environment.

Evolution has woven morality in the genetic code of the surviving species and societies, as all groups that allowed internecine violence to dominate have vanished through self-destruction. For further arguments on this thesis, follow this post at Hell's Handmaiden: Atheists are bad, bad people: The Conclusion!, as well as the earlier portions of this well-written essay: part I and part II.