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Emotional EthicsWhy We Distinguish Good From Evil
Recent advances in biology and neuroscience are obliging us to re-examine the way we think about moral and social norms. Moral judgements are no longer deemed to be the outcome of rational processes, but are viewed as a product of evolution. Moreover, science has debunked the notion of universally applicable ethical principles, forcing us to accept that values are relative. But without a fixed moral compass, how can we distinguish right from wrong? Freud was one of the first to popularize the idea of the unconscious as a driving force of human behavior. Since then, neurological research has been through a kind of Copernican revolution, and scientists now believe that everything we do is governed by highly complex neural processes over which our conscious minds have no or only minor control. In other words, intuition and emotion are the deciding factors behind our actions, and reason only comes into play at a later stage when we try to explain, excuse, justify and categorize the decisions thus taken. While one might speak of universal social attitudes, it would be wrong to talk of universal ethical principles. Our notions of good and evil are merely the changing products of a constant dialogue between human biology and its social and cultural context, “nature” and “nurture”. This book investigates the implications of these findings for our ethical and legal frameworks and draws on the latest research to describe the current crisis of morality and ethics and its impact on philosophy and religion. It also examines the dangers of dispensing with fixed moral principles and sets out an alternative vision for functional social networks.
... was born in Marl, an industrial town in western Germany, in 1956. He gained his doctorate in physics, studied theology the following years and was ordained as a Catholic priest for the diocese of Münster. Since 1992 he has continued to pursue his scientific and philosophical interests outside the church and currently works as a senior science writer for Stern magazine. In addition Ochmann provides a weekly online column to stern.de, mainly on topics from psychology and the neurosciences. Frank Ochmann lives in Hamburg, Germany.
Chapter Outline
Introduction: The Line Through the Heart From Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago: »If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.« This chapter describes how biologists and neuroscientists became interested in “the line dividing good and evil”.
Chapter 1: Reuniting Split Visions of Man Explains how the traditional mind-body dichotomy has been discredited. Humans are now seen as integrated biological-cultural unities, thereby requiring us to re-evaluate our understanding of social and moral norms, which are greatly influenced by our “nature”.
Chapter 2: From “Is” to “Ought” Provides an outline of moral philosophy and highlights the central themes and debates. Interestingly, the conundrums that have been at the heart of philosophy for many centuries (reason versus emotion, pluralism versus monism etc.) are now the focus of scientific research.
Chapter 3: Me, We, and Others How do we distinguish between ourselves and others? This chapter explains the importance of “Theory of Mind”, the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to regard others as being “like me”. This chapter also introduces Elizabeth Spelke’s research on “core knowledge systems”.
Chapter 4: Naturally Good? Like “Theory of Mind”, empathy gives us the ability to perceive the states of mind of others, in particular their emotional states. This chapter discusses the concept of empathy, outlining, for example, the contrasting theories of Gallese et al. on the one hand and Singer and de Vignemont on the other. Ochmann considers whether early signs of cooperative behavior in infants and chimpanzees can be accepted as evidence that humans are “naturally good” and takes a critical look at altruistic behavior (including personal satisfaction and the “warm glow” derived from giving) to conclude that “natural goodness” is only half the truth.
Chapter 5: Evil Instincts This chapter analyses anti-social behavior, evaluates the research on psychopathic attitudes, and examines the “wiring” of adolescent brains. Why are some people “bad”? And why are many of those people so similar to ourselves?
Chapter 6: Remorse Deals with emotions and their effect on moral decisions. It outlines our current understanding of decision-making and explains how moral judgments are no different to other types of decisions. It concludes by explaining how we develop a set of internalized rules that could be called “conscience”.
Chapter 7: United and at Odds This chapter looks at social interaction and experimental games like the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” derived from game theory and designed to measure the individual’s readiness to cooperate for the sake of the common good. It concludes by explaining how the process by which our brains are "rewarded" (i.e. by positive feelings) prompts us to make social decisions including those regarded as moral.
Chapter 8: On Values, Examples, and Virtues Examines how individuals can co-exist in social networks without universally applicable and unchanging values. In the absence of absolute moral norms, certain attitudes, sometimes referred to as “virtues”, have the power to stabilize society. Sociologists such as Robert Putnam have described the product of virtue-oriented behavior as “social capital”, and it is this type of behavior that establishes trust between members of a social network by rewarding prosocial behavior and by punishing antisocial behavior. Although there can be no return to the seductive security of a fixed moral compass, Ochmann states that only a robust set of moral rules will provide the social “glue” necessary for sound social networks.
Key Themes and Ideas
1. Humans should be seen as biological-cultural unity Increasingly, biologists and other researchers in the life sciences are finding it necessary to do away with many of the dichotomies in place since antiquity. Human behavior is best understood as an integrated whole: it no longer makes sense to distinguish between physical processes and the mind, spirit or consciousness. The long-standing debate about nature versus nurture also appears unhelpful, given that the two concepts are inextricably linked. The same goes for the traditional dichotomies of mind and body, reason and emotion. Seeing humans as integrated biological-cultural unities has far-reaching implications for our understanding of social and moral behavior.
2. Moral decisions (“good”, “bad”, “right” and “wrong”) are no different from other types of human decisions Morality and moral values are socially determined products of human interaction based on biologically and culturally governed decision-making processes.
3. Moral judgments are made intuitively and therefore unconsciously Types of behavior usually considered as “morally right” (cooperation, generosity, fairness and so on) were not brought into being with the emergence of homo sapiens, but developed over millions of years. Precursors of these traits are readily apparent in our closest genetic relatives, the great apes. Recent studies on social cognition show the extent of similarity and difference.
4. Moral judgements aren’t determined by “free will” Recent research by neuroscientists suggests that “free will” (i.e. the ability to choose consciously and freely between different courses of action) is illusory. For example patients with damage to key areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex have been shown to exhibit anti-social behavior and in some cases are deemed to be incapable of adapting their behavior to conform to social norms. The central role of neurological processes calls into question our traditional notions of personal responsibility and guilt, and we need to use our new scientific knowledge to redefine these concepts.
5. Acting in accordance with, or counter to, ethical norms defines our status within a social network Trust is the “social glue” produced by acting in accordance with ethical norms, and it allows us to live in social networks that are far larger than those created by any other species. Altruistic behavior appears to stabilize society, but every individual faces constant moral challenges. In the event that individuals stop acting in accordance with ethical norms (for example because of an increase in corruption or selfishness), trust is eroded and the stability of the social network is undermined. Social rules, although subject to change, are still necessary for the survival of a social network, be it a family or a union of states. It is therefore imperative that such rules are respected so that our social networks can continue to operate. There are scientific reasons to believe that virtues can stabilize at-risk social networks, provided that prosocial actions are rewarded and antisocial behavior is punished adequately.
»Entertaining and instructive.« Der Spiegel
»Easy to read and exciting.«
»A thoughtful
attempt to integrate the surge of new findings at the
»Frank Ochmann
has succeeded in giving an astonishingly Psychology Today (German edition)
»Especially interesting and inspiring when
socially relevant conclusions are drawn from numerous lab
studies.«
»A masterpiece.«
»It's a real joy to read this
book!«
»Anyone who reads this book learns a lot
about morality.«
»This book is in pleasant contrast to all those rush jobs on
the market. ... It deals with much more than 'just' morality; it
is a very nice and instructive excursion to many relevant and cutting
edge topics of psychology.«
»Ochmann proves himself to be a brilliant
analyst ... His conclusions are as exciting as
provocative.«
If you would like to contact the author, please mail to: info@eggers-landwehr.de (agent at Eggers & Landwehr) or frank.ochmann@die-gefuehlte-moral.de
For foreign rights, please contact Ullstein Buchverlage: Pia Götz Foreign Rights phone: +49 (0)30-23456-450 fax: +49 (0)30-23456-515
Here you can download Ullstein's foreign rights catalogue (spring 2008 edition).
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