I read something going around in social media the other day
that certainly started more than one argument. “The human species is the only
species that displays homophobia.”
I found the statement most interesting because of what it
tried to accomplish even before the real debate even began. It labels anyone
who disagrees with a moral stance as having a phobia. For me, the statement was
a “non starter” because I won’t engage anyone in social media once they revert
to name-calling, but I did spend some time thinking about the real argument
over what is considered morally acceptable, or legally acceptable, when it comes
to sexual behavior, or perhaps the deeper notion that we as a species have a
moral code at all.
Nietzsche said, “Fear is the mother of morality.” I’m afraid
I don’t agree with him.
First, the idea that if you disagree with the behavior of
another person on moral grounds that you must therefore have a phobia is
ludicrous and disingenuous. If I disagree with the behavior of a thief does
that mean I am a cleptophobe? What if
I disagree with a buddy of mine cheating on his wife? Does that make me a malaxaphobe? If I have objections to
someone setting buildings on fire, does that mean I suffer from arsonphobia? Maybe I shouldn’t be
writing about this because I am a catagelophobe,
who knows?
One thing we know for sure is that the human species is the
only species with a codified moral code. Every law that exists on the books is
based on a moral judgment of some sort. We judge that public nudity is inappropriate
and we therefore pass a law. We judge that taking property that does not belong
to you is morally wrong and we pass laws against stealing in various forms. We
consider it morally wrong to take the life of another human being and codify a multitude of
laws against the act ranging from negligent manslaughter to first-degree
murder. As a species we have passed moral judgment on a variety of behaviors.
That is what makes us different than the rest of the animal kingdom.
It is true that other species display various types of moral
behaviors such as caring for their young, or division of duties, but we can
also find a variety of other accepted animal behaviors that we consider morally
wrong. These are included but not limited to – eating your young offspring, killing
and eating your mate after sex, pecking the weakest member of the group until
it is dead, beating or killing your rival because you want to be in charge,
bludgeoning your sexual rival and taking their mate as your own. All of these
behaviors are perfectly accepted among animals, but we humans frown on them and
even enforce laws against such behaviors because of our moral code.
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