Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: Are you a Doomer™? [View all]GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)Hypothesizing that cultural developments might have epigenetic effects is a bridge too far for me.
Darwin also didn't know about Cultural Materialism.
Morality is a learned trait that is passed on through teaching. Moreover, morality tends to be an outgrowth of the physical circumstances the population lives in - see Marvin Harris' concepts of infrastructure and superstructure.
I will agree that a society that adapts well to its physical circumstances (through adopting appropriate customs, morality, taboos etc.) well has an evolutionary advantage over another society that doesn't adapt as well in the same circumstances. However, that advantage tends to evaporate when the circumstances change. Physical circumstances change a lot faster than genetic structure.