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Cindy Tam
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A new study suggests there might be hidden costs to our callousness: It might harm our self-image and chip away at our commitment to morality.
"From a certain perspective, current liberal Western civilization seems to be a moral pinnacle. We have rejected slavery. We have substantially de-legitimized aggressive warfare. We have made huge progress in advancing the welfare of children. We have made huge progress toward gender and racial equality. In his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature, Steven Pinker says he is prepared to call our recent ancestors "morally retarded" (p. 658). Imagine how we would react if a Westerner today were seriously to endorse a set of views that would not have been radical in 1800: denying women the vote (or maybe even advocating a return to monarchy), viewing slavery and twelve-hour days of child labor in coal mines as legitimate business enterprises, advocating military conquest for the sake of glory, etc. "Morally retarded" might seem a fair assessment!" 'Morally retarded' or calling the kettle black?
Via Wildcat2030
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Cindy Tam
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"It’s been long thought that psychopaths suffer from a mental disorder, but a new Queen’s University-led study casts doubt on this idea." As children, parents and guardians are entrusted with responsibility until we are of age. If an adult-aged individual were not responsible for his or her actions, who would be? Can harmful or destructive behavior be addressed without valid accountability?
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Cindy Tam
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"While exchanging favors with others, humans tend to think in terms of tit-for-tat, an assumption easily extended to other animals. As a result, reciprocity is often viewed as a cognitive feat requiring memory, perhaps even calculation."
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Cindy Tam
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"The number of Americans who cannot vote because they have been convicted of a felony continues to grow. The Sentencing Project reported Thursday that in 2010 5.5 million voting-age citizens were disenfranchised because of their criminal records, up by 9 percent from 2004. About a quarter are in prison, but the rest have completed their sentences or are on probation or parole." How can felons change, demonstrate change, and be accepted by society as citizens and not felons after incarceration?
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Rescooped by
Cindy Tam
from Hope
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On listening to the CBC broadcast of Arno Michael's poignant story, Life after Hate, you hear of a personal transformation from harbinger of violence to champion of dignity. But beyond the skepticism of a human's capacity to change, beyond recognition of the call he has answered with action, you hear admonitions for failing to turn himself in for his admissions. I can understand the cry for blood, of an-eye-for-an-eye but in light of his words coupled with his actions we must queston ourselves. What purpose does punishment and incarceration serve? Is it protection of the public? Is it to reform a harmful individual? Is it to appease someone's outrage?
Via Cathryn Wellner
"How would you feel if that happened to you?” If bystanders can truly understand what it's like to be a victim of bullying, they are more likely to intervene, offer support, or seek help. This question opens the door to teaching children about empathy. Empathy is recognizing, understanding and caring about how someone feels, or being able to “put yourself in someone’s shoes. “Treat others the way you want to be treated” is the modified golden rule that conveys empathy. Empathy is a key ingredient in families, friendships and other relationships. How can empathy reduce teasing and bullying? How can empathy weaken the power of bullies?"
Via Edwin Rutsch
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Cindy Tam
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11 July 2012 - "A robotics team from the University of Pisa in Italy has a challenge for the Uncanny Valley theory made famous by the 1970 essay of that name. Masahiro Mori had said when robots get too realistic they turn people off with a feeling of eerie distaste. The team from Pisa are intent on showing that robots with human expressions can be, well, liked. They would like to generate a new chapter of human like robots that do not churn up a sense of unease. They are focused on research that can demonstrate how manipulated expressions on robots can be made more attractive so that the human can cross over Mori’s dips of feelings of unease and creepiness."
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Cindy Tam
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07 September 2011 - The smallest words in our vocabulary often reveal the most about us, including our levels of honesty and thinking style...
Thinking about your own death isn’t usually the most pleasant experience, but it can be a beneficial one.
Via Sakis Koukouvis
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Cindy Tam
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A person’s moral development is largely shaped by a role model. It is the moral duty of every citizen to act as good role models, especially those who are in the public eye. Aristotle
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Cindy Tam
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For hippies and bohemians as for businesspeople and investors, the extreme individualism of the ’60s has been triumphant. Selfishness won.
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Cindy Tam
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How can you increase your chances of telling Truth from Lie? Don't Mimic.
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Cindy Tam
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Like it or not, Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies are the embodiment of American democratic values in the world. Now, they need to play the part.
Is moral enhancement a suitable "pill to kill the thin papery feeling" (Plath) of a flimsy moral compass? Is it merely visible action or is it willful intent that makes you a moral creature?
Via Wildcat2030
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Cindy Tam
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Perhaps less a question of morality and more a question of effectiveness and appropriateness.
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Cindy Tam
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"Imagine a molecule that underlies the virtues that glue societies together. Imagine that it brought out the better angels of our nature with just a sniff and could “rebond our troubled world.” Imagine that it was the “source of love and prosperity” and explained “what makes us good and evil.” Well, carry on imagining." It's a bit more complicated than that. A more comprehensive perspective on the function and effects of oxytocin. How can we elicit this balanced, "bigger picture", critical-thinking perspective among the narrowly focused?
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Cindy Tam
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"The view that China should become more democratic is widely held in the West. But framing the debate in terms of democracy versus authoritarianism overlooks better possibilities." How do political systems evolve morally?
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Cindy Tam
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"The cream of society may rise to the top, but so might the scum — researchers now find that people in the upper crust may be more likely to engage in lying, cheating and other kinds of unethical activity than those in lower classes. "It's not that hard to reverse these patterns of behavior," Piff added. "Even a simple reminder of the needs of other people actually does a lot to change patterns we'd otherwise document. As Warren Buffett said, the rich aren't necessarily bad — they just need to be reminded of that.""
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Cindy Tam
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"You might not expect executives of top financial businesses to admit outright that they're crooks, but that's pretty much what they did in responding to a new survey released today by the whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow." We know the problem exists, we know some of the variables, so what comes next? How can we create systems with incentives for honesty and integrity rather than lying and cheating?
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Cindy Tam
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"What is the state and how should it be organised? Quentin Skinner sheds light on Thomas Hobbes' answers to these fundamental questions in political philosophy in this latest episode of Philosophy Bites."
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Cindy Tam
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Even when they're in a rush, people are less likely to tweak the truth when communicating on their mobile devices than when they're having a face-to-face conversation.
Is there something about karma that makes it appealing to individuals in specific moments of their lives? A new study by Benjamin Converse, Jane Risen, and Travis Carter suggests that there is. In a series of experiments they found evidence to support the idea that when people face an important outcome that’s out of their control, they believe that being charitable can somehow induce a positive outcome.
Via Sakis Koukouvis
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Scooped by
Cindy Tam
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"Power – whether unconsciously primed in the mind or actually given over other people in an experimental situation – made volunteers much more likely to advocate rule-based decisions, and less likely to advocate outcome-based decisions: minds primed with power were more likely to say that threatening Magnus Gäfgen was wrong and that the doctor should tell the boy about his terminal diagnosis. Minds primed with powerlessness were much more likely to say that threatening torture was justified and that the doctor should let the boyfriend go on holiday without knowing his diagnosis. Power, then, makes people more moral, or at the very least rule-following – or does it?"
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Cindy Tam
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"Political ideology is an extension of morality — and morality, as Mr. Haidt is fond of saying in his new book, binds and blinds. [...] “The left and right in this country,” Mr. Haidt says in reference to his new book, “are two separate cultures.”" How much of your moral palette are you utilizing?
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