# Will other sentients be more moral than us? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812 "2010-12-30T11:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/1 "2010-12-30T11:39:34Z")
So say we look at a “typical”, or representative, sentient species. How will their behaviour compare to ours, at a comparative level of technological development? (_obviously_ this is a completely speculative thread, WAG to the power of Graham’s number) * * * On the one hand, I find the concept of instinctively benevolent aliens implausible, because they are products of evolution after all\*, “red in tooth and claw”. And arguably, things like lying and cheating are inevitable characteristics (some even argue dishonesty is a necessary developmental step to reach the cognitive level that we have achieved). On the other hand, there are specific features of homo sapiens and our world that might make us more warlike than the norm. We’re instinctively tribal; we organise into groups, then compete with other groups – this is perfect for war. And we have two genders, split approximately 50:50 in proportion. I suspect that this might be a setup that promotes direct conflict (for reasons too complex to go into in the OP). So I’m wavering between “same as us” and “better than us”. - I’m restricting this to races created by evolution. Even though we may encounter artificial intelligences first. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/2 "2010-12-30T11:46:44Z")
Moral by who’s definition? We (Earthlings) can’t always agree what’s moral by our standards and even those change over time. Just use a fictional example. Klingons are a warrior race. Suicide because of a disability is moral to them, even honorable while we would view it as cowardly. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/3 "2010-12-30T11:55:26Z")
Ack. I forgot _that_ word leads to _that_ discussion. I mean how much concern they will have for the will / rights of others. Say that you have an item which is of minor worth to an individual of this hypothetical race. Would they be prepared to kill you for it? Steal it? Or would they instinctively find such behaviour undesirable? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/4 "2010-12-30T11:59:09Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Ack. > I forgot _that_ word leads to _that_ discussion. > > For this thread I just mean conflict / conquest. > I mean how likely they are to say “I want your property, and I’m quite happy to kill you for it” Sounds just like us then. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/5 "2010-12-30T12:08:58Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Sounds just like us then. I think it’s more nuanced than that. Most people would find killing _a person_ to be a difficult thing to do; it’s not something we could coldly and casually do for a small material gain. However, people _outside our group_ don’t seem like real people to us. We have far less of a problem killing “generic enemy”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/6 "2010-12-30T12:10:03Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I think it’s more nuanced than that. > Most people would find killing _a person_ to be a difficult thing to do; it’s not something we could coldly and casually do for a small material gain. > > However, people _outside our group_ don’t seem like real people to us. We have no problem killing “generic enemy”. I was thinking the group thing, not individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/7 "2010-12-30T19:38:00Z")
I’m sure that their morals would be just the same as ours-they would either stun us or hit us over the head with a large metal club humanely before cutting our bodies up for food. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/8 "2010-12-30T19:40:19Z")
What possible basis can anyone have for speculation about this issue? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/9 "2010-12-30T20:12:52Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What possible basis can anyone have for speculation about this issue? My argument would be that a species that has advanced as far as interstellar travel must have learned how to cooperate on a large scale within the species, just as humans have done, and that cooperation would likely be based on some ethical system. (That does not mean, of course, that they would behave so nicely with an alien species like us, but similarly, who knows what we would do to them?) ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/10 "2010-12-30T20:34:32Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What possible basis can anyone have for speculation about this issue? Well I had a stab at it in the OP… ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/11 "2010-12-30T21:24:07Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > My argument would be that a species that has advanced as far as interstellar travel must have learned how to cooperate on a large scale within the species, just as humans have done, and that cooperation would likely be based on some ethical system. Either an ethical system or by turning individuals into units whose behavior is completely programmed. That possibility has been examined by science fiction as far back as H.G. Wells’s _First Men in the Moon_. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/12 "2010-12-30T21:35:39Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Moral by who’s definition? We (Earthlings) can’t always agree what’s moral by our standards and even those change over time. > > Just use a fictional example. Klingons are a warrior race. Suicide because of a disability is moral to them, even honorable while we would view it as cowardly. I would not necessarily call suicide due to a disability the act of a coward. I would have objected in Worf’s case because he had a duty to his son, but absent that I saw his point and would not have attempted to stop him with anything other than words. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/13 "2010-12-30T21:41:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m sure that their morals would be just the same as ours-they would either stun us or hit us over the head with a large metal club humanely before cutting our bodies up for food. That last part may be quite likely. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/14 "2010-12-30T22:00:16Z")
I reluctantly voted yes, though what I wanted was “ **could** aliens be more moral” not “WILL…”. The reason is, with how people behave today? It wouldn’t take much for it to be better and more moral than it is. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-other-sentients-be-more-moral-than-us/565812/15 "2010-12-31T18:27:00Z")
> **[Blue-and-Orange Morality - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlueAndOrangeMorality)** > > To say that questions of morality are thorny and filled with gray when they aren't being hammered between stark absolutes is putting it mildly. Because of this there can be great drama when characters who represent a wide range of moral …