Ethics and Objectivity

I think it depends upon what one means as an “objective” standard for humanity  This may mean at least three standards:

·          A heavenly, otherworldly standard
·         The standard of human reason
·         The human standard of survival and nourishing, the individual in a community

If the statement points to a heavenly standard, then it may not matter since human beings have already set guides without them in at least two instances: China and Confucianism for millennia and the US political philosophy for over a couple centuries. 

If it points to the standard of human reason, then the sentence may not apply since people have gotten together to decide what is a right way to live in families and larger clans.  Whether they always did so by reason is another question.

Same with the last sentence, the old mammalian/reptilian brain, our thalamus and hypothalamus, is a seat of our survival instinct.  All mammals and reptiles have this in common with us, I believe birds and fish do as well.  This concerns the "Fight, Flight, Food, Fun" aspects of living.

In any case, this may be the built-in “standard” for human beings.  Although that leads to another question concerning the importance of the cerebrum; do we use it just to rationalize our emotional feelings about ethical topics?