Morality is what prevents social animals from defecting in the one-shot PDs. Society is what prevents social animals from defecting in iterated PDs. So morality is an evolutionary adaptation. In higher animals like primates and whales, where culture is essential, morality is largely learned (including by reading books). In lower animals, like dogs and bees, it is largely innate. The cultural behavioral norms are malleable and depend on the society, thus theft/violence/murder can be acceptable in some cases and prohibited in others, there are no absolutes.
Everything else, like religion, is just elaborate fluff on top.
I’m not sure that is as sound as suggested. Just when are we really in a one-shot PD setting? In the, I might argue, rare cases where we are, is it really morality or merely habit of thinking that set our behavior?
Yes, but when is that really the case. Perhaps it’s a case of my just not seeing the setting as that of pure isolation. So while we might call it morality perhaps it is potential impact in other games we also play that are not one-shot.
For instance, I see someone drop $10,000 (or $100 if you want) and not notice they did. I let them walk out of site and notice no one else is around and quietly pick it up and put it in my pocket.
Later I’m out with friend having lunch or drinks and offer to pick up the tab. In generally we all tend to pay our own way as none generally had a lot of money to just throw around. They start asking why so how do I explain?
Or perhaps my child has been asking for a special toy that was not in the budget. Suddenly I can buy it. How do I explain that to my spouse and child?
The idea being the lives we live is not one with the degree of separability implied by the one-shot assumption, so the game setting is really a repeated game but not always with same players.
Perhaps that is just explaining why morality might emerge and so your point holds but I’m not sure.
Then it’s no longer pure one-shot, I agree. But there are plenty of cases where defection can be done with impunity, and personal conscience is all that is keeping one from it. I doesn’t have to be financial, either.
Morality is what prevents social animals from defecting in the one-shot PDs. Society is what prevents social animals from defecting in iterated PDs. So morality is an evolutionary adaptation. In higher animals like primates and whales, where culture is essential, morality is largely learned (including by reading books). In lower animals, like dogs and bees, it is largely innate. The cultural behavioral norms are malleable and depend on the society, thus theft/violence/murder can be acceptable in some cases and prohibited in others, there are no absolutes.
Everything else, like religion, is just elaborate fluff on top.
I’m not sure that is as sound as suggested. Just when are we really in a one-shot PD setting? In the, I might argue, rare cases where we are, is it really morality or merely habit of thinking that set our behavior?
Any situation where the defection would not be uncovered, can be treated as one-shot PD. Theft, slacking off, you name it.
Yes, but when is that really the case. Perhaps it’s a case of my just not seeing the setting as that of pure isolation. So while we might call it morality perhaps it is potential impact in other games we also play that are not one-shot.
For instance, I see someone drop $10,000 (or $100 if you want) and not notice they did. I let them walk out of site and notice no one else is around and quietly pick it up and put it in my pocket.
Later I’m out with friend having lunch or drinks and offer to pick up the tab. In generally we all tend to pay our own way as none generally had a lot of money to just throw around. They start asking why so how do I explain?
Or perhaps my child has been asking for a special toy that was not in the budget. Suddenly I can buy it. How do I explain that to my spouse and child?
The idea being the lives we live is not one with the degree of separability implied by the one-shot assumption, so the game setting is really a repeated game but not always with same players.
Perhaps that is just explaining why morality might emerge and so your point holds but I’m not sure.
Then it’s no longer pure one-shot, I agree. But there are plenty of cases where defection can be done with impunity, and personal conscience is all that is keeping one from it. I doesn’t have to be financial, either.