There is actually none. Zero. I do not believe that the biology of human brain has changed enough to make us lie, cheat, hurt less.

But the culture has. The institutions that uphold our societies have been modified, transformed, reinvented. I doubt it was due to everyone’s sudden enlightenment that we have formed fundamental ethical principles. But I can see how through a painfully slow, gradual shift in culture, technology, and environment, we have changed our views and with them our ways.

Take the women’s current status in society. If it wasn’t for the World Wars, one can only wonder how many more years it would have taken for them to reach it.

Men were drafted, factories became empty, someone needed to build ammunition. Women finally got a taste of independence. When the war was over and the women were sent home, they were reluctant to go back to the previous state of things

It was scientific advancements that gave us the Enlightenment. It was Industrial Revolution and Urbanization that altered the class system and stopped the slavery.

The ethical arguments for why something should be changed usually comes only after the necessary economical, technological, scientific, and other circumstances are already in place.

The most important conclusion from these facts is that even our chaotic nature can be directed in the desired path.

Even if by nature we are prone to enslaving one another, hating one another, and a myriad of other very human kind of things to do, we are, in fact, capable of controlling this nature.

Through cultural, scientific, technological and other changes, we can restrain what’s negative, and maximize what’s positive.

It can happen accidentally, as it has been for the most of human history, or, we can bring these changes about with our own efforts – by creating the necessary institutions, pushing for the appropriate cultural changes, and making the right personal decisions.

We have abolished slavery and written the human rights. Then what should stop us from ceasing lying or murder?

The truth is, it can only be us. Since we can construct these institutions and manifest these changes, we can also bring them to ruin. And much much easier so than build them.

It seems NORMAL to us that humans have rights, men and women are equal, and slavery is wrong. But it does not take much for all of this to disappear. It might be a nuclear war, it might be forming your whole identity of off your political affiliation, or simply being a jerk to the people around you. So let’s put some thought into it all.

We have been give the ten commandments. But what if we create our own – ones based on empathy, deep thought, and mutual flourishing?

Sometimes I wonder what other people are thinking. I wonder if it is the same way that I think; do they look out the window and wonder how the trees feel? What secret does the wind flowing through their leaves tell? Do plants feel jealous of those more colorful or more exotic? Do they feel as people do toward each other? Does the earth feel the same emotions as me? Does it feel happiness and anger and sadness and stress? Do the sun and moon celebrate each other’s differences, or is that why they stay separate? I wonder if they really judge me like I think they do. Do they pray that I don’t sit with them when I walk in the room? Is it valid that I am afraid of what others will think of my hair or my makeup or my outfit when I get ready for the day? Should I continue to regret the embarrassing things I’ve done or said? Or has everyone already forgotten. Sometimes I want to ask people what they are thinking. I want to question them about what they think of the trees and the wind and the plants and the earth and the sun and moon, but most of all, what they think about me.