The Moral Instinct: an Exploration of Univeral Morality in Humans and Non-Human Speci

[JBeukema]

The Moral Instinct: an Exploration of Univeral Morality in Humans and Non-Human Species | Serendip's Exchange

The study of morality has historically been relegated to disciplines such as philosophy, history, and literature. However, emerging trends in research suggest that the field of neurobiology would be a valuable addition to this list. Neurobiology research may offer needed insights into the biological underpinnings of social cognition, and particularly of morality. Precisely because the study is firmly grounded in a wide spread philosophical tradition, discussions about the neurobiology of morality shed light on many other aspects of the interconnectedness between cultural knowledge and scientific knowledge.

This form of research is of social importance as well as scientific importance, as morality has historically been invoked to justify inclusive and exclusive practices that selectively target groups of individuals. For example, in Western philosophical, social, and historical tradition, the notion of women as less rational beings, and by extension, less moral beings as compared to men, dominated for centuries (Mill, 1869; Lloyd, 1977). This reasoning was sufficient justification for denying women the right to vote, to education, and to hold property. Examples of how the presence or absence of a moral capacity can be invoked to justify actions against populations are not limited to the example of women, and can easily be found elsewhere. This discussion will focus primarily on the variations in morality across human populations, and how that variation affects culture.

Though this reasoning regarding female moral capacity no longer holds sway in the way it did even one hundred years ago, a similar debate is at work elsewhere. Some research, particularly morality research, challenges the centuries old philosophical tradition that rationality and with it, morality separates humans from other species. Considering the dramatic changes that resulted from a shift in thinking about female moral capacity, it is an exercise in creativity to imagine what the implications for calling animals moral beings might be. Considerations of moral capacities in animals can particularly inform a discussion of the evolutionary origins of morality, and in turn, answer questions regarding a universal moral capacity.
The abundance of neurobiology research on morality and its social implications are lengthy and extensive. For this reason, this paper will take direction from the topics that were most widely discussed in class: the universality of morality and animal morality. Discussion will then center on how morality research informs the broader field of study of consciousness, diversity, and other ongoing lines of inquiry. Central questions to consider include:

• Does moral capacity extend to non-human species?
  • How does this understanding root inquiry in an evolutionary context?
• How universal is moral capacity across humans?
  • How do we define universal morality?
  • Is such a definition necessary?
  • What can anecdote add to a discussion of neurobiology and morality?
  • How is variation accounted for?
• How does an understanding of the neurobiology of morality contribute to other ongoing lines of inquiry?
  • … to an appreciation of diversity?
  • … to consciousness?

 

[midcan5]

Moral Sense Test (MST): Test Your Moral Intuitions

 

[JBeukema]

Moral Sense Test (MST): Test Your Moral Intuitions

http://www.usmessageboard.com/religion-and-ethics/79579-your-morals.html

 

[midcan5]

Web exclusive: 'The emerging moral psychology' by Dan Jones | Prospect Magazine April 2008 issue 145

"The project is casting its net as wide as possible: the MST can be taken by anyone with access to the internet. Visitors to the “online lab” are presented with a series of short moral scenarios—subtle variations of the original Footbridge and Trolley dilemmas, as well as a variety of other moral dilemmas. The scenarios are designed to explore whether, and how, specific factors influence moral judgements. Data from 5,000 MST participants showed that people appear to follow a moral code prescribed by three principles:

• The action principle: harm caused by action is morally worse than equivalent harm caused by omission.

• The intention principle: harm intended as the means to a goal is morally worse than equivalent harm foreseen as the side-effect of a goal.

• The contact principle: using physical contact to cause harm to a victim is morally worse than causing equivalent harm to a victim without using physical contact."

or

"It is not enough to ask, ‘Will my act harm other people?’ Even if the answer is No, my act may still be wrong, because of its effects on other people. I should ask, ‘Will my act be one of a set of acts that will together harm other people?’ The answer may be Yes. And the harm to others may be great." Derek Parfit