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[–] Calorie-Kin 1 point 0 points (+1|-1) ago 

I guess all I could say is.. Why not both? Could it be that our intellect and wisdom has taught us to think of moral behavior as 'right'? Kind of like you don't really think about stabbing yourself in the face, and couldn't even if you tried (well.. Most people couldn't). Where your brain tells you it's like "Duh".

An amoral man in a moral society does have and advantage, which is why amoral behavior happens in the first place. The amoral man calculates the risk vs. the reward. If the reward is worth it, he will consider the amoral behavior and might go through with it. This is a very hard philosophical question, delving deep into the whole "order can only exist with disorder" and all that crap. If history taught us anything is that it's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle. There are countries, specifically in the middle east, where the punishment for stealing is getting your hand chopped off. In a society that's so god-fearing, and with such a cruel punishment in the real world, it would seem that no people would steal. But no, people are in fact stealing just like in any other country (warning - NSFW very graphic).. On the other hand, you have countries with almost no punishment (like in The Netherlands - usually a fine, 6 years in prison for the harshest of thieves), and it seems to be self-governing just fine.

I meant altruism, sorry mate. Let's blame it on not getting enough sleep :)

Your cases for charity also make a lot of sense. I agree with them.