The Moral Landscape How Science Can Determine Human Values 2010
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About this topic
The exploration of morality through the lens of science is a thought-provoking topic that bridges philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. This genre examines how scientific understanding can inform our ethical frameworks and guide human values. It invites readers to consider the implications of empirical evidence on moral decision-making and the nature of well-being. Works in this area often challenge traditional views of morality, suggesting that a scientific approach can lead to a more nuanced understanding of human flourishing and societal progress.
Key Topics to Explore
- The intersection of science and ethics
- Empirical approaches to moral philosophy
- The role of well-being in human values
- Critiques of moral relativism
- Neuroscience and decision-making
What You Will Find
Readers exploring this topic can expect a range of books that delve into the scientific underpinnings of morality. These works often vary in style from academic texts to more accessible essays, providing insights into how empirical research can shape our understanding of ethics. The discussions may include philosophical arguments, psychological studies, and practical implications for individual and societal behavior, appealing to both scholars and general readers interested in the moral implications of scientific findings.
Common Questions
What is the moral landscape concept?
The moral landscape concept suggests that moral values can be understood in terms of empirical facts about human well-being, proposing that science can inform our ethical choices.
How can science determine human values?
Science can determine human values by utilizing empirical research to understand human behavior, preferences, and the conditions that contribute to well-being, thus providing a framework for ethical decision-making.
What are some critiques of applying science to morality?
Critics argue that reducing morality to scientific terms can overlook the complexity of human experience and the cultural context of ethical beliefs, potentially leading to a form of moral reductionism.
The Moral Landscape
Sam Harris's first book, The End of Faith, ignited a worldwide debate about the validity of religion. In the aftermath, Harris discovered that most people - from religious fundamentalists to nonbelieving scientists - agree on one point: science has nothing to say on the subject of human values. Indeed, our failure to address questions of meaning and morality through science has now become the primary justification for religious faith. In this highly controversial book, Sam Harris seeks to link morality to the rest of human knowledge. Defining morality in terms of human and animal well-being, Harris argues that science can do more than tell how we are; it can, in principle, tell us how we ought to be. In his view, moral relativism is simply false - and comes at an increasing cost to humanity. And the intrusions of religion into the sphere of human values can be finally repelled: for just as there is no such thing as Christian physics or Muslim algebra, there can be no Christian or Muslim morality. Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our 'culture wars', Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation.
Science in an Age of Unreason
Science is undergoing an identity crisis! A renown psychologist and biologist diagnoses our age of wishful, magical thinking and blasts out a clarion call for a return to reason and the search for objective knowledge and truth. Fans of Matt Ridley and Nicholas Wade will adore this trenchant meditation and call to action. Science is in trouble. Real questions in desperate need of answers—especially those surrounding ethnicity, gender, climate change, and almost anything related to ‘health and safety’—are swiftly buckling to the fiery societal demands of what ought to be rather than what is. These foregone conclusions may be comforting, but each capitulation to modernity’s whims threatens the integrity of scientific inquiry. Can true, fact-based discovery be redeemed? In Science in an Age of Unreason, legendary professor of psychology and biology, John Staddon, unveils the identity crisis afflicting today’s scientific community, and provides an actionable path to recovery. With intellectual depth and literary flair, Staddon answers pressing questions, including: Is science, especially the science of evolution, a religion? Can ethics be derived from science at all? How sound is social science, particularly surrounding today’s most controversial topics? How can passions be separated from facts? Informed by decades of expertise, Science in an Age of Unreason is a clarion call to rebirth academia as a beacon of reason and truth in a society demanding its unconditional submission.
Science and Liberty: Patient Confidence in the Ultimate Justice of the People
One of the most debated topics in law and politics is the role that science should play in setting policy. What does it mean to demand that politicians and the People themselves “follow the science” if science deals with questions of fact, not matters of moral or political values? This long-standing controversy has roots ranging from Plato’s philosopher-kings to Enlightenment skepticism to modern progressivism and the rise of the administrative state. ‘Science and Liberty’ explores the idea that a constitutional republic provides a fitting role for science while preserving the People’s liberty and right to self-government. It examines this topic from five perspectives: American, Historical, Philosophical, Scientific, and Moral. Providing direct access to primary historical sources, ‘Science and Liberty’ contends that America’s founders designed a constitution that was predicated on the Enlightenment theory that liberty precedes government and that presupposed the engagement of the People and their representatives at all levels of free debate. Early twentieth-century progressivism was openly hostile to these founding principles in its desire for efficient rule by scientific administrators. However, it is impossible to philosophically ground political and moral values in the findings of science, despite what modern theorists claim. Ultimately, the injunction to “follow the science” demands to substitute the values of “experts” for the values of the People themselves. By illustrating numerous examples from the hard and social sciences, ranging from physics to Biblical criticism to climate science, this book also explains that the People have a role to play in reasonably engaging with and critiquing modern science. ‘Science and Liberty’ will appeal to those interested in a variety of subjects, including law, politics, philosophy, and intellectual history, as well as scientific criticism, particularly from an American perspective. It is written to be accessible for all ages while also engaging with complex issues and sources relevant for those with advanced degrees.