Michael Shermer on The moral argument
Shermer argues that the science of morality explains moral behaviour without recourse to God.
In The Moral Arc (2015), Shermer argues that moral progress is real, measurable, and driven by scientific reasoning rather than divine revelation. He traces the expansion of moral concern — from tribe to nation to all of humanity — and attributes it to increasing literacy, trade, travel, and the application of reason to ethical questions.
Shermer contends that the moral argument for God confuses the origin of moral intuitions with their justification. Evolution gave us moral instincts — empathy, fairness, reciprocity — but these instincts are refined and extended by reason and evidence. No divine command is needed, and invoking one adds nothing explanatory.
He also notes that moral progress has consistently required overriding religious teachings, not following them. The abolition of slavery, the recognition of women's rights, and the acceptance of homosexuality were all achieved against religious opposition. If morality came from God, religious institutions should have led these movements rather than resisting them.
“The arc of the moral universe bends toward truth, justice, and freedom — and it does so because of reason and science, not faith and revelation.”