Is It Really Wrong?

In this reading by Gazzaniga: “Toward a Universal Ethics”, we are presented with The Trolley Dilemma. The dilemma in abstract moral reasoning studies most often presented by researchers is the trolley problem. This is an experiment in ethics and moral justice. A situation built on abstract moral reasoning. The question here is “Are morals something that is innate or are they something we learn?”

What is morality? Where does our sense of morality come from and why is it important for us to know? The cognitive scientist, psychologist, linguist, and scholar, Steven Pinker discusses this in his essay, “The Moral Instinct”. In this essay, Pinker claims that our morality sense is innate, it constantly changes, and it is universal among each culture. Pinker also explains that moral sense shapes our judgement as it is something that we value and seek in other people. The science of the moral sense is important since it shows how morality impacts our actions and it explains why we act in certain ways.

This is a belief supplemented by the work of Jonathan Haidt in his 2001 publication in the Psych Journal entitled “The Emotional Dog and Its Rational Tail: A Social Intuitionist Approach to Moral Judgment.” Haidt, through explaining the Social Intuitionist model of moral judgment seeks to end the dominance the rational school of thought has exerted over the world. Increasing the popularity of the social intuitionist model, which takes more variables, such as culture, into account, will affect how people feel about issues, help them to acquire new beliefs, and to help fight one’s ingrained, societal ethics. He enforced the belief that we, as human beings, need both rational, logical thought, and emotional intuition. We are not simply made of one or the other, nor can we separate the two. Haidt likens the relationship between logic and morality to a dog wagging its tail. He believes that “reasoning may be the tail wagged by the dog” (insert cite later), while emotions and moral intuitions, both positive and negative, comprise the dog itself. This allusion illustrates how Haidt feels on the subject; he thinks that logic is a necessary part of people, but it is not the only part, nor is it even the main part. A proponent of the psychological school of thought that emphasizes emotions and intuitions, the social intuitionist model has begun to make great strides; scientists believe “that nearly all complex thought relies on metaphors, drawn mostly from our experience as physical

Empathy is the ability to understand and experience the feelings of others, particularly others’ suffering. Humanity’s gift of understanding complex emotions ushers in a new way of understanding ourselves and how we react to stimuli. This ultimately leads to questioning of everything, leading us to one strong notion: Does empathy guide or hinder moral action?

According to Dr. Karen Wynn, humans are in fact born with an ingrained sense of morality. In the classic experiment where a baby sees two scenarios, one with a helpful puppet and one with a mean-spirited one, over 80% choose the kind character when presented with both of them. From primates that roam jungles to dolphins that traverse oceans, even animals have this instinct in their brains. We are all created with this inner sense, so the question is, how does it change in certain people? If all creatures start off with a clean slate, a sympathetic spirit, there must be something that causes them to

In this reading by Gazzaniga: “Toward a Universal Ethics”, we are presented with The Trolley Dilemma. The dilemma in abstract moral reasoning studies most often presented by researchers is the trolley problem. This is an experiment in ethics and moral justice. A situation built on abstract moral reasoning. The question here is “Are morals something that is innate or are they something we learn?”

At first appearance, Smith’s notion of sympathy seems to imply that moral approval is subjective because he implies that we have no direct awareness of what is good or bad. However, Smith presents a solution to the subjectivity of moral perception. The solution he argues is that fellow-feeling is implanted in man by nature, thus giving sympathy an objective purpose sanctioned by nature. In his

Rebecca Saxe’s Do the Right Thing: Cognitive Science’s Search for a Common Morality analyzes multiple research studies performed on the ethical ideas of morality. Saxe uses three current studies to validate her argument, including a Harvard internet study, research on the cognitive activity in the brains of an infant, and analysis of brain imaging using an fMRI. She uses logos and ethos in this essay to support her argument that scientific research will never fully explain the process that a human takes to make a sound, moral judgement, despite all of the innovative studies being performed. Saxe begins her argument by presenting a scenario that helps the reader to further understand the topic being discussed: moral dilemmas. The scenario includes

When thinking about morality, it is necessary to consider how aspects from both nature and nurture, along with free will, may form ones moral beliefs and dictate ones moral actions. To understand how moral beliefs as well as actions formulate and operate within individuals and societies, it is imperative that a general definition of morality is laid out. Morality, then, can be defined as ones principles regarding what is right and wrong, good or bad. Although an individual may hold moral beliefs, it is not always the case that moral actions follow. Therefore, in this essay I aim to provide an explanation that clarifies the two and in doing so I also hope to further the notion that one’s moral framework is a product of all three factors; nature, nurture, and free will. The first part of this essay will flush out what exactly morality it and how it manifests similarly across individuals and differently across individuals. Contrariwise, I will then explain how morality manifests similarly across societies and differently across societies. Alongside presenting the information in this order, I will trace morality back to primordial times to showcase how morality has evolved and developed since then, not only from a nature-based standpoint, but also from a

In his essay, the “Origin of Moral Sense” Charles Darwin explains the origin of morality and its relation to evolution. Darwin argues, that like animals, humans are descendants of natural selection. Darwin argues that not only our (meaning humans and animals) mental capacity evolved, so did our own moral sense. Darwin’s first point in the “Origin of Moral Sense” is that ethics occurs naturally amongst animals. Darwin believes that animals have a sense of sympathy and need to do the right thing ingrained in them. Although Darwin believes it is instinctual to “do good”, it does not apply to the same species, only species of the same kind.

Are we naturally moral creatures? Do we always act towards the common good of others? I am positive that we do not, and in fact, as much as society wants to, we go against our morals and lead with our ‘feelings’. These feelings may feel right, but it doesn’t mean they will lead you in the right path to fulfil your ultimate end, true happiness. Hitler was a passionate man driven by feelings, but what he felt and did during the World War Two era was not for the sake of the common good, and was not morally right. In today’s society we often struggle between what is legally right and what is

Morality is defined as a system or code that we humans use to differentiate between right and wrong. This system could be derived from a number of factors: religion, culture, and upbringing. It is difficult enough to determine what an individual's morals are, but going further to determine how we came to possess those morals is even more ambitious. Still, regardless of its difficulty, this subject consumes many philosophers and psychologists. One such moral psychologists, Jonathan Haidt, is theorizing the possibility of evolution causing ones morality. Haidt is a moral psychologist at the Universtiy of Virgina further believes that complex social structures such as religion and politics as well as our need for social structures affect

The concept of morality plays an important role in human society. Through the discovery of what, exactly, determines that which is “good” and that which is “bad”, humans develop mechanisms that determine how they respond to or judge any given situation. What remains a mystery, however, is what, exactly, is the basis of morals. It is commonly believed that morals are learned through lived experiences, as well as, from those who act as each person’s individual caretaker(s). Even though these factors do play a significant role in determining morality, these factors alone neither create nor determine a person’s moral compass. In Paul Bloom’s work, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, we are introduced to the idea that morality, while partly learned, is something that is ingrained in humans from birth. Through multiple studies, performed both by Bloom as well as other psychologists, it is revealed that not only are babies able to perceive what is right and what is wrong, but also, from birth, babies are instilled with the innate knowledge of empathizing, valuing fairness and status, and valuing those who look similar versus those who look different. In spite of previous ideas, Bloom proves that babies are smarter than previously thought, while simultaneously recognizing the shortcomings of this “elementary” form of morality. Bloom’s finding prove to be revolutionary, in that they allow for the examination of different social structures, their shortcomings, and what

An intuitive moral judgment is immediate judgment that requires no thinking or reflection. In other words, an intuitive moral judgment is simply a judgment we make with a minimum of thinking about it. An intuitive moral judgment is an automatic response to our understanding of a situation or an action. Many moral psychologists believe that moral intuitions are mainly based on our feelings rather than reasoning.

Morality is basically the individual’s perception of what is “good'' or “right.'' The human behaviors are determined by the environment. What so ever human is behaving is just because of its environmental factors (Rest, 1994; Godwin, 2008).Moral Imagination is the mental ability to create or use ideas, images, discern moral aspects implanted within a situation and develop a range of possible solutions of the situation from a moral point of view (Godwin, 2008; Werhane, 1998; Werhane, 2002; Heath, 2008; Mehalik and