Braintrust
What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality
- Editore:
Princeton University Press
- Collana:
- Princeton Science Library
- EAN:
9780691180977
- ISBN:
0691180970
- Pagine:
- 288
- Formato:
- Paperback
- Lingua:
- Inglese
Descrizione Braintrust
Moral values, Churchland argues, are rooted in a behavior common to all mammals--the caring for offspring. The evolved structure, processes, and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves--first offspring, then mates, kin, and so on, in wider and wider "caring" circles. Separation and exclusion cause pain, and the company of loved ones causes pleasure; responding to feelings of social pain and pleasure, brains adjust their circuitry to local customs. In this way, caring is apportioned, conscience molded, and moral intuitions instilled. A key part of the story is oxytocin, an ancient body-and-brain molecule that, by decreasing the stress response, allows humans to develop the trust in one another necessary for the development of close-knit ties, social institutions, and morality.