Whether or not we think or feel we are following in the footsteps of evolution, one way or another, we are indeed following the drives given us by the combination of direct, or genetic, nature and indirect, or culturally summated, nature. Obviously the chain of delegation of evolutionary will is going to be complicated, with various genetic and cultural intermingling between lineages. For example, the human mitochondria, or powerhouse of each cell, may well have derived from an external, exogenous microorganism. And humans further may borrow behaviours and design patterns from other lifeforms. Still, all roads lead back to nature and its inherent tendencies.
You might check out this SEP article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-biology/. Haven't read it myself, but looking at the table of contents it seems like it might be helpful for you (SEP is generally pretty high-quality). People have made a lot of different arguments that start from the observation that human morality has likely been shaped by evolutionary pressures, and it's pretty complicated to try to figure out what conclusions to draw from this observation. It's not at all obvious that it implies we should try to "escape the shackles of evolution" as you put it. It may imply that, but it also may not. (In particular, "selective evolutionary debunking arguments" seem to have implications along these lines, but "general evolutionary debunking arguments" seem to lead to almost the opposite conclusion.)
You might also check out this post by Eliezer.