Ergo

This article on a study of altruistic behavior is fascinating.

It seems to be indicating that there may be more than just a selfish emotional reward for doing good...obviously without more studies it's hard to draw any sort of real conclusion, but I think it provides some good hope that maybe, just maybe, there's something innate to humanity that makes us capable of plain old understanding when it comes to others' needs. Maybe we're more than simple clockwork responding to an innate sense of reward/punishment.

If you really wanted to, you could take it a few steps furter and construct a decent argument for the existence of God based on the existence of an apparent "Moral Law" of humanity, but I don't even want to take it there.

Whatever it is, the answer's going to be fascinating.

In other news, I went to Mass at the Oratory this afternoon. It was the first time I'd been back since getting back from break, and it felt good, comfortable. The Gospel and the homily were both about the constancy of God and God's love - how God never changes His basis for the relationship with us, and it's humanity instead that has such a finicky, changing attitude.

More and more, I'm drawn to the idea of God simply as the ideal of love. The idea of constancy in love is nothing more than what I've said before (in other, locked entries) about love being the ultimate in acceptance and understanding of another person. Theology and doctrine aside, I've yet to find any sort of flaw in the Catholic conception of God, even (perhaps especially) just taking the idea of God as the idea of the perfect sort of love to share with another human.

Not that I'll ever stop questioning.