Transcript God - Western Michigan University

A review of Michael Shermer’s
The Science of Good and Evil
Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and
Follow the Golden Rule
Jamie Severtson
Western Michigan University
Evolution of Morality
• Morality
– Right and wrong thoughts and behaviors in the context of a social group
• Scientific analysis
– More beneficial than philosophical as an explanation of moral
development
• Removes God from equation
– Not arguing existence, just not relevant to scientific approach
– Creates the problem of moral relativity
• Methodological naturalism
– Morals result from laws of nature
• Evolution
– Morals evolved through natural selection on individuals and
populations
» All animals are trying to survive and cooperation is a good strategy
Evolution of Morality (cont.)
• Morality
– Exclusively human
• Conscious assessment of right and wrong
– Verbal behavior  rule statements
» Self-aware, self-conscious
• Premorality
– Moral-like behavior observed in our ancestors
• Examples
– Vampire bats share food
– Dophins push the sick to surface to get air
• Species differ to the degree that they demonstrate moral behavior
–
–
–
–
If humans are .8 to .9 moral, then
Apes are .6 to .7 moral
Monkeys are .4 to .5 moral
Whales and dolphins are .2 to .3 moral
Evolution of Morality (cont.)
• As humans evolved, culture changed and
morality evolved
– Increased populations
• Changing social structure
– Division of labor
– Value changes
– Organized religion developed
Bands = 10s-100s of individuals
Tribes = 100s – 1,000s of individuals
Chiefdoms = 1,000s – 10,000s of individuals
States = 10,000s – 100,000s of inidividuals
Empires = 100,000s – 1,000,000s of individuals
Bio-Cultural Evolutionary Pryamid
A Model of the Origin and Development of Ethical Behavior
Immorality
• Problem with God
– How can God be all knowing, and all good, if
evil exists?
• God’s will
• Myth of pure evil
– Force within us
• Accountability problem (free will?)
– Solution
» Talk about evil as an adjective (e.g., evil act) rather
than a noun.
» No such thing as pure evil
Immorality (cont.)
• Myth of pure evil (cont.)
– Justifies immoral acts
• 17th century Europe
– Burning “witches”
– Spanish Inquisition
• 20th century Muslim Middle East
– September 11th
» Killing Americans will restore peace
– Does not lead us to a real explanation for behavior
Immorality (cont.)
• Although we have evolved into moral creatures,
anyone can engage in an evil act given the right
circumstances
– Holocaust
• Not all Germans were Nazis
• Not all Nazis were “bad”
• Those evil actions were not unique to Nazis
– Milgrim experiments
– Zimbardo’s Standford prison experiements
– Calling someone evil does not get at the cause of
behavior
Immorality (cont.)
• Myth of pure good
– Nobel savages
– Also detrimental to understanding of morality
– Humans are both good and bad
Political Organization and
Frequency of Warfare
Death Rate from Wartime
Making Moral Choices
In a Determined Universe
• Law
– Insanity Defense
• Free will
• Most people will follow the law
• Few people will not under mental duress
– How can you punish someone for something they did not
choose to do?
– The Durham Test
• Did the defendant have a mental defect?
• If so, was the defect the reason for the unlawful act?
Making Moral Choices
In a Determined Universe
• Free Will
– Quantum indeterminacy
• Random neural firings
– Fuzzy Logic
• Shades of categories unrecognized by law
– Neuroscience
• Science shows that mind and body are not separate
• Brain is wired and rewired
– Genetics and environmental conditions
• Choices “feel” free even if they aren’t really free
Making Moral Choices
In a Determined Universe
• Free Will (cont.)
– Derived from determinism?
• Incompatible terms
– Left with ignorance
» We can not know all of the causal variables
» Therefore our choices are “free” because we are ignorant
Godless Goodness
• “Is a belief in God necessary to right the wrongs
of immoral behavior?”
– Many nonbelievers behave morally
• Abraham is believed to be an atheist
– Many believers behavior immorally
• Hitler was Catholic
– Without God, would you be more likely to commit:
• robbery?
• rape?
• murder?
– Does the presence of God prevent these acts?
Godless Goodness (cont.)
• How can we be good without god?
– Values (behaviors) are passed down through
generation to generation
• Behaviors that coincide with cultural norms are
reinforced
• Behaviors that do not are punished
• “Secular ethics may be primitive and flawed, yet it
is the most precious thing we have.”
Absolute vs. Relative vs.
Provisional Ethics
• Absolute
– Inflexible
– Typically derived from religious sources
– Most popular
• Relative
– Flexible
– Derived from social group
– Problems of justifying any action
• Consequential
– An action
Absolute vs. Relative vs.
Provisional Ethics (cont.)
• Provisional
– Allows room to make better moral choices
– Middle ground between absolutism and relativism
• “It would be reasonable for us to offer our conditional
agreement that an action is moral or immoral if the
evidence for and the justification of the action is
overwhelming.”
Skinner on Morals
• “…the behavior we call moral or just
is a product of special kinds of social
contingencies arranged by
governments, religions, economic
systems, and ethical groups”
(Skinner, 1974, p. 268-269)
Conclusions
• Many of the author’s notions regarding the
development of morality are in line with
behavior analytic account
– Evolution of altruism in different species
• Moral behavior is necessary for the survival of the
individual and the species
– Human verbal behavior makes them unique
• Rule governed behavior
• The creation of “God” as a governing authority
Conclusions (cont.)
– Religion adds contingencies to control
behavior
• May have been necessary at one point in the
history of humans, but may not be necessary now
– Consequences for behavior may be due to
• Natural selection
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
– Shermer appears to uphold the theoretical
assumptions of contextualism
Thank you!
For more information on a theoretical
behavior analytic account of religion
and moral development, enjoy the
following slides put together by Jamie
Severtson and Candice Jostad
Religion and
Moral
Development
Avoiding Hellfire and
eternal damnation
By
Jamie M. Severtson &
Candice M. Jostad
“…the behavior we call moral
or just is a product of special
kinds of social contingencies
arranged by governments,
religions, economic systems,
and ethical groups”
(Skinner, 1974, p. 268-269)
Natural Contingencies
• Do not Support Moral Behavior
(Support immoral behavior)
•Greed
•Laziness
•Lying
•Lust
•Gluttony
•Wrath
•Pride
Jamie’s Mom on the
importance of morality…
• “My answer, without looking at
the bible, is that morals are
important because…you gotta be
moral, because if you’re not, it’s
bad. Bad things could happen,
and you want to be good.”
The Need for
Moral Control
• Mediation of future
(Skinner, 1974)
• Enjoy the benefits of
Group Membership
(Baum, 2005)
The Need for
Moral Control
• good behavior
without monitoring
(Malott & Suarez, 2004)
–“The eyes of the Lord
are everywhere,
keeping watch on the
wicked and the good.”
Proverbs 14:32
Religion
• contingencies to support moral behavior
I’m sorry I said
–Be altruistic
your wig looks
That’s okay.
fake!
–Cooperate with Others
–Love thy Neighbor
–Be Kind
–Obey Parents
–Feed the hungry
–Care for the sick
–Be Honest
–Show Mercy
–Forgive Others
Behavioral Theory
Religion Impacts Moral Development
through:
– Respondent Conditioning
•Pairing
– Operant conditioning
•Direct-Acting
Contingencies
•Indirect-Acting
Contingencies
Respondent Conditioning
• Conditioned Reinforcers
& Aversive Stimuli
Good
God
CS
Jesus
Love
Right
US
Righteous
Bad
Satan
CS
Demons
Hate
Wrong
US
Evil
Heaven
Hell
• Elicit physical reactions
Stimulus Equivalence
Trained Relations
Derived Relations
“Good”
“God”
Stimulus Equivalence
Trained Relations
Derived Relations
“Heaven”
“God”
“Righteous”
Operant Conditioning
• Contingencies
–Direct-Acting
•E.g., Prayer, Bible Study, Crafts
–Reinforce participation
–Punish Inappropriate behavior
–Indirect-Acting (Rules)
•Heaven & Hell
–Ultimate Reinforcer
–Ultimate Aversive Condition
The Big Ten
• How can 10 rules
encompass all moral
behavior?
–If certain stimuli are in
an equivalence class
with “Good” or “Bad”
then you would engage
in Relevant approach
or avoidant behavior
Honor thy Father & Mother
• No back-talk
• Clean up your toys
• Don’t fight with your brother
• Take out the trash
• Do your homework
• Feed the dog
• Come home before curfew
• Ask before you take the car
• Get good grades
• Go to college
• Get married
• Have babies
Thou shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife
– How many different rule statements could
you make based on this one commandment?
Conclusions
•Religion benefits Society by
establishing moral behavior
for the survival of the
culture
• Moral development occurs as a
result of the social
community’s reinforcing
practices