The Science of Morality

Our winter series on the New Science of Morality will run from Tuesday 7 January, 2020 at 1PM until 24 March 2020. We will listen to, and discuss, short videos of well-known psychologists such as Jonathan Haidt, Joshua Greene, Roy Baumeister, and Paul Bloom talking about the science of morality. The talks were recorded by the online science magazine, Edge.org, whose blurb for the seminar series claims, “Using babies, psychopaths, chimpanzees, fMRI scanners, web surveys, agent-based modeling, and ultimatum games, moral psychology has become a major convergence zone for research in the behavioral sciences.” (https://www.edge.org/event/the-new-science-of-morality) Please join the Alderney Ideas Seminar to discuss what science can tell us about how to become a good person.

Facilitators: Andrew Kernohan & Keith Thomas

7 January 2020

1. Jonathan Haidt , New York University (27:59)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-1

14 January 2020

2. Joshua Greene, Harvard University (24:59)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-2

21 January 2020

3. Sam Harris, Author (21:12)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-3

28 January 2020

4. Roy Baumeister, Florida State University (18:00)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-4

4 February 2020

5. Paul Bloom, Yale University (26:38)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-5

11 February 2020

6. David Pizarro, Cornell University (25:45)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-6

18 February 2020

7. Elizabeth Phelps, New York University (30:52)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/a-new-science-of-morality-part-7

25 February 2020

8. Joshua Knobe, Yale University (23:53)

https://www.edge.org/conversation/the-new-science-of-morality-part-8

3 March

Molly Crockett: Drugs & Morals

A young researcher waxes passionate about her research and its possibilities. [2011, 18 min, TEDxZurich]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_-2wOnkc_k

10 March

Alison Gopnik: A Separate Kind Of Intelligence

A mid-career researcher explores the implications of an overlooked idea. [2019, 42 min (first 20 min only), Edge]

https://www.edge.org/conversation/alison_gopnik-a-separate-kind-of-intelligence

For our sessions on 19 May and 26 May, we will return to the scientific study of morality, We will discuss two previously scheduled videos that we missed in March because of the pandemic.

Facilitator: Keith Thomas

17 March

Patricia Churchland: The Nature Of Moral Motivation

A superstar emerita looks back on a career that changed the boundary between philosophy and science.

[2019, 40 min (first 25 or 30 min only), Edge]

https://www.edge.org/conversation/patricia_s_churchland-the-nature-of-moral-motivation

24 March

Karl Friston: Embodied Cognition

A late career researcher, rumored to be a candidate for the Nobel Prize, sketches a big picture. [2018, 14 min, Serious Science]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW0JnjgCO3o