Interbane wrote:. . . When you consider all the things you currently think of as flaws, perhaps you should instead consider them human characteristics, without judgement. To think of them as flaws is negative. It's almost manipulative, as if it's meant to induce shame or embarrassment on some obscure level. We are disgusting filthy flawed creatures.
We can have humility without such judgemental constructs.
I think this is a humble and noble sentiment. And well articulated.
From a materialist perspective, we acknowledge the fact that we are limited creatures with limited imaginations. And that we are easily led astray by our own biology and a brain that has evolved to be easily manipulated by biases and emotions. We are wired, so to speak, to come to beliefs too easily and take positions that are not necessarily based on facts.
My father, for example, is one of those FoxNews addicts and frequently spouts off various conservative platitudes. My younger brother gets all bent out of shape and judgmental about it. But maybe because I have learned that political orientation is largely based on emotion, it's easier for me to step back and try to understand why these conservative platitudes are so appealing to my father. People frequently misunderstand my neutrality in such matters as weakness as if, by not taking sides, I am part of the problem.
Thus, when a teenage girl has premarital sex and gets pregnant, we can accept that this was a mistake based on basic biological impulses. Why would we want to shame the girl and tell her she's worthless and immoral if we want the girl to make the best of a bad situation and from this point forward be the best person she can be (and be a good mother too)? Here, shame and moral outrage can do more harm than good.
Obviously, in the case of rape or murder, we must take unequivocably strong action to protect other members of society. This is a very different scenario where moral outrage and judgment are appropriate.
Edit:
And bringing this back to evolution, I think it's important for materialists to recognize that evolution is a strange and unintuitive concept for many people. It doesn't do much good to badger and berate those who resist the idea of evolution. William James, the American psychologist, recognized that the power of belief is itself a very positive psychological trait. Though he was a staunch pragmatist early in life, as he got older, he argued that religious faith can be seen as rational—even if that religious belief itself cannot be demonstrated to be true. As Interbane said, we are flawed. And the only way in which we wouldn't be flawed is if we were no longer human.