Do you think people are born with a moral compass, or do we develop it over time?

[Nikki1989]

[Staglioni]

That's a great question. I grew up in a cult in a narrow minded rural town, but I never really subscribed to the ideas I was being fed. I wonder sometimes if it had to do with a specific experience: my father and I would sit on the porch listening to classic rock, and the "f*** the establishment" message kind of stuck with me, to the point where I became a career musician in fact, so perhaps that was the saving grace that saved me from thinking that anybody that wasn't like me was bad, I guess that's a form of nurture based moral compass if I'm using myself as an example which is all I can really do.

[Bricealan]

@Nikki1989 Nikki, I believe and studied that kind of thing in college, and that kind of thing, (including your ethics question) is "learned behavior" not innate or inborn behavior. We are (hopefully) taught good moral and ethical behavior.

Where have you been all this time? I love your questions!!!

[Wodens_Apprentice]

So you actually think we're born as blank slates even though genetics disproves that.

[Crimsyjo]

No. Children are born being very selfish. They do not even understand the concept of "yours" and "mine" until an adult intervenes a lot when they snatch things from their siblings or pick things up in shops and throw a tantrum over wanting the item.

Families without good moral parents will raise immoral offspring. Like how people say thieves run in families.

[lilBigPotato]

Nope. It depends on your education and social surroundings when growing up. Pretending anything else is just a cheap excuse.

[FreyaRed]

Moral is mostly learned and partially it comes from egoistic needs. We have needs some people more other people less and different type of needs but this gives us a picture about what other people could want from us. This builds up our moral, satisfaction of our needs projected on others is good, refusal is bad. In more simple meaning, giving someone a piece of cake is a good deed, refusing this piece of cake is bad.
Of course there is learned moral as well. For a Nazi is killing Jews a good deed for a Jew is killing Palestinians good deed while Nazis are bad people.
Anyway I don't think this is something hard wired in our minds like instincts and needs.

[NathanDavis]

I think, MOST of us are born with a compass... and then, we develop and adjust such compass, for sure...

and there are very different approaches to very different people...

[AviatorTom]

We are born with a basic moral compass that we refine as we mature, based on our experiences and environment.

[thegreenyogi]

A bit of both. I think you have to be naturally inclined to having a moral compass.

[WhitneySnow]

In childhood you develop one and then it gets further refined as a teen and as an adult

[AngryCarl3]

My moral compass came originally from my parents, eventually I augmented this with societal norms.

[loveslongnails]

I think the answer to this is unknown, though it has provoked countless and endless discussions.

[AMS700CX4u2]

I think it comes from watching the actions of your parents but it has to be there in the first place

[Xawyx-2]

Since I was a kid, I always had a moral compass... but it evolved over time.

[Bklynbadboy12]

I think its a little of both I think we're born with it but as we go through life and have different experiences we fine tune it

[Mathiew]

The moral is important with the nature. Yes, they are born with it. As well, it is develop with time and experience. And there is more, like formation and training.

[Wodens_Apprentice]

Can't the answer be both? Why is thst impossible?

[Agape93]

Its developed

[midnightmoon05]

Both.

[tonita926]

I honestly don’t believe so.

[eagle1951]

over time