Morality can be defined as a system of ideas about right and wrong conduct. ... The emerging fields of evolutionary biology and in particular evolutionary psychology have argued that, though human social behaviors are complex, the precursors of human morality can be traced to the behaviors of many other social animals...
According to Shermer, the following characteristics are shared by humans and other social animals, particularly the great apes: attachment and bonding, cooperation and mutual aid, sympathy and empathy, direct and indirect reciprocity, altruism and reciprocal altruism, conflict resolution and peacemaking, deception and deception detection, community concern and caring about what others think about you, and awareness of and response to the social rules of the group.
