I think everything eventually boils down to a huge, iterative game of Prisoner's dilemma. Everything we do, say, and become a part of is a direct result from our previous experience. Humans display a systematic bias towards cooperative behavior. So, we cooperate toward a "greater good" for the most part, but are still self-interested enough not to become too invested in things which go against our rational nature.

Picture a million people in a pitch-black room. Each of us has a flashlight. For the most part, we pay a lot of attention to to the things within our immediate vicinity. However, there are occasions where random groups may come together to better highlight some new, unseen feature of the terrain. We highlight it, we measure it, we gain knowledge which we may (or may not) feel the need to share with others.

To answer the question, no. I don't believe in "moral absolutes". There are features of the landscape which we can only illuminate together. And we learn from that shared experience together.

Hope that made sense.