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Author: Neil Levy
Publisher: Oneworld
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
Many people fear that science, in the form of genetics and evolutionaryiology, will show that everything we hold most dear is illusory or shameful.orality will prove to be disguised selfishness; our choices will be shown toe driven by instincts; our reasoning will prove to be constrained by ouriology. This book argues that these fears are groundless. Our morality, likeur emotions and our abilities, is indeed the product of evolution, but thisoes not make it illusory. Nor should we conclude, as so many psychologistsnd biologists have done, that our morality is reducible to our biologicalnstincts. Instead, properly understood, the evidence from the sciencesupports the view that the moral capacities we have are capable ofeassessing the very processes which gave birth to them, condemning theiological selfishness in which they had their origin. Human nature is aumane nature, at least in all the ways that matter, and understanding ourrigins ought to make us marvel at it all the more.
Author: Neil Levy
Publisher: Oneworld
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
Many people fear that science, in the form of genetics and evolutionaryiology, will show that everything we hold most dear is illusory or shameful.orality will prove to be disguised selfishness; our choices will be shown toe driven by instincts; our reasoning will prove to be constrained by ouriology. This book argues that these fears are groundless. Our morality, likeur emotions and our abilities, is indeed the product of evolution, but thisoes not make it illusory. Nor should we conclude, as so many psychologistsnd biologists have done, that our morality is reducible to our biologicalnstincts. Instead, properly understood, the evidence from the sciencesupports the view that the moral capacities we have are capable ofeassessing the very processes which gave birth to them, condemning theiological selfishness in which they had their origin. Human nature is aumane nature, at least in all the ways that matter, and understanding ourrigins ought to make us marvel at it all the more.
Author: Bert Musschenga
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400763433
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 351
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Book Description
This book addresses the question of what it means to be moral and which capacities one needs to be moral. It questions whether empathy is a cognitive or an affective capacity, or perhaps both. As most moral beings behave immorally from time to time, the authors ask which factors cause or motivate people to translate their moral beliefs into action? Specially addressed is the question of what is the role of internal factors such as willpower, commitment, character, and what is the role of external, situational and structural factors? The questions are considered from various (disciplinary) perspectives.
Author: Craig Hovey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620327074
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 145
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Book Description
Is science all we need to make us moral?In his recent book, The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris presents his vision of a world in which reason and science alone determine our values. Here, a leading Christian ethicist subjects this vision to a rigorous critique, providing general readers with a clear, concise, and compelling exposŽ of the most serious flaws in Harris's arguments.
Author: Patricia S. Churchland
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180970
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological platform of bonding" that, modified by evolutionary pressures and cultural values, has led to human styles of moral behavior. The result is a provocative genealogy of morals that asks us to reevaluate the priority given to religion, absolute rules, and pure reason in accounting for the basis of morality. Moral values, Churchland argues, are rooted in a behavior common to all mammals--the caring for offspring. The evolved structure, processes, and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves--first offspring, then mates, kin, and so on, in wider and wider "caring" circles. Separation and exclusion cause pain, and the company of loved ones causes pleasure; responding to feelings of social pain and pleasure, brains adjust their circuitry to local customs. In this way, caring is apportioned, conscience molded, and moral intuitions instilled. A key part of the story is oxytocin, an ancient body-and-brain molecule that, by decreasing the stress response, allows humans to develop the trust in one another necessary for the development of close-knit ties, social institutions, and morality. A major new account of what really makes us moral, Braintrust challenges us to reconsider the origins of some of our most cherished values.
Author: Joshua Greene
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143126059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 434
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Book Description
“Surprising and remarkable…Toggling between big ideas, technical details, and his personal intellectual journey, Greene writes a thesis suitable to both airplane reading and PhD seminars.”—The Boston Globe Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world’s tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground. A grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Moral Tribes reveals the underlying causes of modern conflict and lights the way forward. Greene compares the human brain to a dual-mode camera, with point-and-shoot automatic settings (“portrait,” “landscape”) as well as a manual mode. Our point-and-shoot settings are our emotions—efficient, automated programs honed by evolution, culture, and personal experience. The brain’s manual mode is its capacity for deliberate reasoning, which makes our thinking flexible. Point-and-shoot emotions make us social animals, turning Me into Us. But they also make us tribal animals, turning Us against Them. Our tribal emotions make us fight—sometimes with bombs, sometimes with words—often with life-and-death stakes. A major achievement from a rising star in a new scientific field, Moral Tribes will refashion your deepest beliefs about how moral thinking works and how it can work better.
Author: Paul Bloom
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307886867
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 230
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Book Description
A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society—and especially parents—to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on groundbreaking research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice. Still, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically. We are naturally hostile to strangers, prone to parochialism and bigotry. Bringing together insights from psychology, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Bloom explores how we have come to surpass these limitations. Along the way, he examines the morality of chimpanzees, violent psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and explores our often puzzling moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race. In his analysis of the morality of children and adults, Bloom rejects the fashionable view that our moral decisions are driven mainly by gut feelings and unconscious biases. Just as reason has driven our great scientific discoveries, he argues, it is reason and deliberation that makes possible our moral discoveries, such as the wrongness of slavery. Ultimately, it is through our imagination, our compassion, and our uniquely human capacity for rational thought that we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we were born with, becoming more than just babies. Paul Bloom has a gift for bringing abstract ideas to life, moving seamlessly from Darwin, Herodotus, and Adam Smith to The Princess Bride, Hannibal Lecter, and Louis C.K. Vivid, witty, and intellectually probing, Just Babies offers a radical new perspective on our moral lives.
Author: Paul Bloom
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062339354
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 304
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Book Description
New York Post Best Book of 2016 We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering of others as the ultimate source of goodness. Many of our wisest policy-makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers agree that the only problem with empathy is that we don’t have enough of it. Nothing could be farther from the truth, argues Yale researcher Paul Bloom. In AGAINST EMPATHY, Bloom reveals empathy to be one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality in society. Far from helping us to improve the lives of others, empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that appeals to our narrow prejudices. It muddles our judgment and, ironically, often leads to cruelty. We are at our best when we are smart enough not to rely on it, but to draw instead upon a more distanced compassion. Basing his argument on groundbreaking scientific findings, Bloom makes the case that some of the worst decisions made by individuals and nations—who to give money to, when to go to war, how to respond to climate change, and who to imprison—are too often motivated by honest, yet misplaced, emotions. With precision and wit, he demonstrates how empathy distorts our judgment in every aspect of our lives, from philanthropy and charity to the justice system; from medical care and education to parenting and marriage. Without empathy, Bloom insists, our decisions would be clearer, fairer, and—yes—ultimately more moral. Brilliantly argued, urgent and humane, AGAINST EMPATHY shows us that, when it comes to both major policy decisions and the choices we make in our everyday lives, limiting our impulse toward empathy is often the most compassionate choice we can make.
Author: Sam Harris
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 143917122X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 322
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Book Description
Sam Harris dismantles the most common justification for religious faith--that a moral system cannot be based on science.
Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: Sackler Colloquium
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388
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Book Description
The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.
Author: Roger Scruton
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 9780826494047
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
In this acclaimed book, Scruton takes the issues relating to vivisection, hunting, animal testing and BSE and places them in a wider framework of thought and feeling. Now available in paperback
