The Science of Morality

The Science of Morality    

by : Aria Ratmandanu 

         

               There is no denying, however, that the effort to reduce all human values to biology can produce howlers. For instance, when the entomologist E. O. Wilson (in collaboration with the philosopher Michael Ruse) wrote that “morality, or more strictly our belief in morality, is merely an adaptation put in place to further our reproductive ends,” the philosopher Daniel Dennett rightly dismissed it as “nonsense. The fact that our moral intuitions probably conferred some adaptive advantage upon our ancestors does not mean that the present purpose of morality is successful reproduction, or that “our belief in morality” is just a useful delusion. (Is the purpose of astronomy successful reproduction? What about the practice of contraception? Is that all about reproduction, too?) Nor does it mean that our notion of “morality” cannot grow deeper and “more refined as our understanding of ourselves develops.

            Many universal features of human life need not have been selected for at all; they may simply be, as Dennett says, “good tricks” communicated by culture or “forced moves” that naturally emerge out of the regularities in our world. As Dennett says, it is doubtful that there is a gene for knowing that you should throw a spear “pointy end first.” And it is, likewise, doubtful that our ancestors had to spend much time imparting this knowledge to each successive generation.

               We have good reason to believe that much of what we do in the name of “morality” decrying punishing cheaters, valuing cooperation, etc.—is borne of unconscious processes that were shaped by natural selection. But this does not mean that evolution designed us to lead deeply fulfilling lives. Again, in talking about a science of morality, I am not referring to an evolutionary account of all the cognitive and emotional processes that govern what people do when they say they are being “moral”; I am referring to the totality of scientific facts that govern the range of conscious experiences that are possible for us. To say that there are truths about morality and human values is simply to say that there are facts about well-being that await our discovery—regardless of our evolutionary history. While such facts necessarily relate to the experience of conscious beings, they cannot be the mere invention of any person or culture.

             It seems to me, therefore, that there are at least three projects that we should not confuse 

1. We can explain why people tend to follow certain patterns of thought and behavior (many of them demonstrably silly and harmful) in the name of “morality.

2. We can think more clearly about the nature of moral truth and determine which patterns of thought and behavior we should follow in the name of “morality.

3. We can convince people who are committed to silly and harmful patterns of thought and “behavior in the name of “morality” to break these commitments and to live better lives.

          These are distinct and independently worthy endeavors. Most scientists who study morality in evolutionary, psychological, or neurobiological terms are exclusively devoted to the first project: their goal is to describe and understand how people think and behave in light of morally salient emotions like anger, disgust, empathy, love, guilt, humiliation, etc. This research is fascinating, of course, but it is not my focus. And while our common evolutionary origins and resultant physiological similarity to one another suggest that human well-being will admit of general principles that can be scientifically understood, I consider this first project all but irrelevant to projects 2 and 3. In the past, I have found myself in conflict with some of the leaders in this field because many of them, like the psychologist Jonathan Haidt, believe that this first project represents the only legitimate point of contact between science and morality.”

            I happen to believe that the third project changing people’s ethical commitments is the most important task facing humanity in the twenty-first century. Nearly every other important goal from combating climate change, to fighting terrorism, to curing cancer, to saving the whales falls within its purview. Of course, moral persuasion is a difficult business, but it strikes me as especially difficult if we haven’t figured out in what sense moral truths exist. Hence, my main focus is on project 2.

          It is easy to see why the study of the evolutionary origins of “morality” might lead to the conclusion that morality has nothing at all to do with Truth. If morality is simply an adaptive means of organizing human social behavior and mitigating conflict, there would be no reason to think that our current sense of right and wrong would reflect any deeper understanding about the nature of reality. Hence, a narrow focus explaining why people think and behave as they do can lead a person to find the idea of “moral truth” literally unintelligible.

       But notice that the first two projects give quite different accounts of how “morality” fits into the natural world. In 1, “morality” is the collection of impulses and behaviors (along with their cultural expressions and neurobiological underpinnings) that have been hammered into us by evolution. In 2, “morality” refers to the impulses and behaviors we can follow so as to maximize our well-being in the future.

           The framework of a moral landscape guarantees that many people will have flawed conceptions of morality, just as many people have flawed conceptions of physics. Some people think “physics” includes (or validates) practices like astrology, voodoo, and homeopathy”

             What will it mean for us to acquire a deep, consistent, and fully scientific understanding of the human mind ? While many of the details remain unclear, the challenge is for us to begin speaking sensibly about right and wrong, given what we already know about our world. Such a conversation seems bound to shape our morality and public policy in the years to come”