Birth of A New Discipline(?): “The Science of Morality” Image: http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Alessandro_Botticelli/birth.jpeg / Tim Zebo http://www.slideshare.net/jerseyguy http://www.facebook.com/tim.zebo [email protected]UUCMC Dialog January 16, 2011
In 1739, Hume argued that science can help us get *what* we value, but it can't tell us what we *ought* to value. In his new book, “The Moral Landscape”, Sam Harris says this is now a dangerous illusion. This multi-media talk reviews the arguments pro and con for the birth of a new discipline: “The Science of Morality.”
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Transcript
Birth of A New Discipline(?): “The Science of Morality”
Facts: the way things are - “This DVD weighs .55 ounces” Values: what’s worthwhile (or not)?
• Aesthetic- “This is great science fiction”• Comparative- “Star Wars #1 is better than #2.”•Instrumental- “Netflix can easily mail this.”• Interpretive- “War will always be with us.”•Moral-”It’s wrong to copy this DVD based on harm, fairness & authority.”
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Brain States of Conscious Creatures
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? ?
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Morality <=> Well-Being (Brain States)
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Premise: Flourishing depends on measurable facts
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Brain States
Individual & Group Behaviors
World Conditions: Cultural, Economic, Political, Environmental, etc., etc., etc.
Outcomes for Human Flourishing: “The Moral Landscape”
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Outcomes for Human Flourishing: “The Moral Landscape”
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Good LivesBad Lives
Terrific Lives
Horrible Lives
Premise: Some have better lives than others
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Outcomes for Human Flourishing: “The Moral Landscape”
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Good LivesBad Lives
Terrific Lives
Horrible Lives
• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions?
• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions?
Possible Dialog TopicsPossible Dialog Topics
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Why should we care? The Moral Landscape: “Introduction”
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• What risks does “faith” (belief without evidence) pose to human flourishing? • What risks does “faith” (belief without evidence) pose to human flourishing?
Possible Dialog TopicPossible Dialog Topic
“Science & religion are in conflict because evidence & reasoning trump “faith” when it comes to understanding reality.”
“Science & religion are in conflict because evidence & reasoning trump “faith” when it comes to understanding reality.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7h08RDYA5E
U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce CommitteeChairmanFred Upton (R-MI) – “Every member and every subcommittee will be on the frontlines as we take on federal agencies to target areas to immediately cut spending."Subcommittee on Environment and EconomyChair - John Shimkus (R-IL)Vice Chair - Tim Murphy (R-PA)
• “That feminists in the West remain silent about this deeply ingrained and institutionalized mistreatment of women is a scandal of our time.” What, if anything, should UUs do about “women in cloth bags”?
• “That feminists in the West remain silent about this deeply ingrained and institutionalized mistreatment of women is a scandal of our time.” What, if anything, should UUs do about “women in cloth bags”?
Comments by Lawrence KraussPhysicist, The Origins Project, Author, “Quantum Man:
Richard Feynman’s Life in Science”
• Our morality is constrained by our biology AND the social contract• It’s impossible to define morality without science (=“secular empiricism”)• Science is the way to determine the consequences of our actions• Science ethos: honesty, openess, creativity, anti-authoritarianism, full
disclosure==a moral society• When humans behave irrationally it’s usually based on incomplete
information (e.g., Stem cell debate: Blastocysts cannot be used for reproduction; there is no “moment of conception” – huge number of steps between the union of sperm and egg and a new entity
• Questions science can ask & answer: • Is a woman safer if she’s in a cloth bag?• Is her self-worth improved?• Is she freer to manifest her capabilities as a human being?
• Our morality is constrained by our biology AND the social contract• It’s impossible to define morality without science (=“secular empiricism”)• Science is the way to determine the consequences of our actions• Science ethos: honesty, openess, creativity, anti-authoritarianism, full
disclosure==a moral society• When humans behave irrationally it’s usually based on incomplete
information (e.g., Stem cell debate: Blastocysts cannot be used for reproduction; there is no “moment of conception” – huge number of steps between the union of sperm and egg and a new entity
• Questions science can ask & answer: • Is a woman safer if she’s in a cloth bag?• Is her self-worth improved?• Is she freer to manifest her capabilities as a human being?
• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions? • What risks does “faith” (belief without evidence) pose to human flourishing?
• What, if anything, should UUs do about “women in cloth bags”?
• Perhaps deception, even more than violence, is the chief enemy of human cooperation
• Is it ethical to prolong minor suffering to create happier memories?
• What else?
• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions? • What risks does “faith” (belief without evidence) pose to human flourishing?
• What, if anything, should UUs do about “women in cloth bags”?
• Perhaps deception, even more than violence, is the chief enemy of human cooperation
• Is it ethical to prolong minor suffering to create happier memories?
• What else?
Possible Dialog Topics: RecapPossible Dialog Topics: Recap
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Dialog Topic: Dimensions of Human Flourishing & UU’s 7 Principles
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Moral actions to cultivate because they increase human flourishing: Health
• Physical: Eating/exercise habits keeping you at a healthy weight• Emotional: Thinking habits keeping you feeling good• Cognitive: Thinking habits keeping you thinking rationally• Sexual: All habits keeping you sexual satisfied
Financial• Spending habits keeping you out of debt
(Friendly & Healthy) Social & Political• Family: etc.• Friends: etc.• Neighbors: etc.• Churches, clubs, teams, … : etc.• Strangers: etc.
Environmental …(Unfriendly & Unhealthy) Social & Political
• e.g., Sociopaths = 3% Males, 1% Females …
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?
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Dialog Topic: Human Flourishing & Declaration of Human Rights
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Moral actions to cultivate because they increase human flourishing: Health
• Physical: Eating/exercise habits keeping you at a healthy weight• Emotional: Thinking habits keeping you feeling good• Cognitive: Thinking habits keeping you thinking rationally• Sexual: All habits keeping you sexual satisfied
Financial• Spending habits keeping you out of debt
(Friendly & Healthy) Social & Political• Family: etc.• Friends: etc.• Neighbors: etc.• Churches, clubs, teams, … : etc.• Strangers: etc.
Environmental …(Unfriendly & Unhealthy) Social & Political
• e.g., Sociopaths = 3% Males, 1% Females …
?
??
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Dialog Topic: Human Flourishing & The Ten Commandments
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(“Immoral”?) Actions to avoid because they decrease human flourishing?: Health
• Physical: Eating/exercise habits keeping you from a healthy weight• Emotional: Thinking habits keeping you from feeling good• Cognitive: Thinking habits keeping you from thinking rationally• Sexual: All habits keeping you from sexual satisfaction
Financial• Spending habits keeping you in debt
(Friendly & Healthy) Social & Political• Family: etc.• Friends: etc.• Neighbors: etc.• Churches, clubs, teams, … : etc.• Strangers: etc.
Environmental …(Unfriendly & Unhealthy) Social & Political
• e.g., Sociopaths = 3% Males, 1% Females …
?
??
?
?
?
?
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The Moral Landscape: “Introduction”
• Better or worse human flourishing? - depends on facts about brain states, the world & behavior
• Values do derive from facts (e.g., DVD copies lead to measurable harm)
• Hume (“ought from is”) & Gould (“NOMA”) are simply mistaken.
• Better or worse human flourishing? - depends on facts about brain states, the world & behavior
• Values do derive from facts (e.g., DVD copies lead to measurable harm)
• Hume (“ought from is”) & Gould (“NOMA”) are simply mistaken.
Chapter TextChapter Text
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• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions?
• What are the dimensions of human flourishing?• Do UU’s Seven Principles cover all the dimensions?
• Dennett: “If ‘ought’ cannot be derived from ‘is’, what can it be derived from?
• Moral truth: Theft is wrong because it harms human flourishing in measurable ways
• Nutritional truth: Eating sat. fat is wrong because it harms human bodies in measurable ways.
• Dennett: “If ‘ought’ cannot be derived from ‘is’, what can it be derived from?
• Moral truth: Theft is wrong because it harms human flourishing in measurable ways
• Nutritional truth: Eating sat. fat is wrong because it harms human bodies in measurable ways.
Chapter NotesChapter Notes
Possible Dialog TopicsPossible Dialog Topics
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Chapter 1: “Moral Truth”
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• A psychopath’s pleasures are NOT an “alternate morality”. Without empathy they cannot experience generalizable human flourishing.
• A psychopath’s pleasures are NOT an “alternate morality”. Without empathy they cannot experience generalizable human flourishing.
Chapter 1 NotesChapter 1 Notes
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Chapter 4: “Religion”
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• “Religion brings benefits to developing societies, but the happiest and most secure societies are the most secular
•Best predictor of social well-being is tolerance of differences (e.g., gays, lesbians, women, other religions, etc.). Tolerance does NOT flourish under orthodox religions.
•Religion is why we’re talking about gay marriage instead of a national energy policy.”
• “Religion brings benefits to developing societies, but the happiest and most secure societies are the most secular
•Best predictor of social well-being is tolerance of differences (e.g., gays, lesbians, women, other religions, etc.). Tolerance does NOT flourish under orthodox religions.
•Religion is why we’re talking about gay marriage instead of a national energy policy.”
Chapter 4 NotesChapter 4 Notes
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Outcomes for Human Flourishing: “The Moral Landscape”