Morality

Do we need a morality pill?

Michael Cook | 30 January 2012

Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer and a research assistant, Agata Sagan, proposed a “morality pill” in a column in the New York Times this week. They speculate that moral behaviour is at least in part biochemically determined. Hence, it should be possible to engineer moral behaviour with drugs. Here is the scenario that they paint:

Researchers call to end smoking in films

Jared Yee | 23 September 2011

In a curious turn of moralising, UK researchers have called for films depicting smoking to be R-rated.

Removing the ethics from bioethics

Michael Cook | 27 August 2011

The New York Times philosophy blog likes edgy topics like does truth matter, isn’t it all relative, and can we have morals without God? The latest edgy assertion comes from bioethicist Joel Marks, a scholar at the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics at Yale University, who has recently swung around to the view that there is no difference between right and wrong.

Harvard morality expert resigns

Michael Cook | 23 July 2011

Harvard neuroscientist Marc D. Hauser, a popular teacher and writer, will resign on August 1. Nearly a year ago an internal investigation found him guilty of eight instances of scientific misconduct and in April the psychology department voted not to allow him to teach when classes begin in the fall.

Harvard morality researcher waits for judgement

Michael Cook | 28 October 2010

Do the errors have an innocent explanation?

New Scientist proposes a new paradigm: scientists should define morality

Michael Cook | 23 October 2010

Peter Singer and Sam Harris on the new science of morality

Too soon to discard religion, says primatologist

Michael Cook | 23 October 2010

Frans de Waal sceptical of how good a job science will do

Harvard admits research misconduct by morality expert

Michael Cook | 21 August 2010

Marc D. Hauser admits errors

Will the new science of morality make us more moral? Perhaps not.

Michael Cook | 14 August 2010

Marc D. Hauser allegedly involved in academic misconduct

The new morality of neuroscience

Michael Cook | 31 July 2010

David Brooks is fascinated by a scientific explanation of good and bad

Neuroscience cracks the morality code

24 September 2008

Harvard experts show Newsweek readers that morality is all in your head

Disgusting!

20 June 2007

Morality is all in the brain, say researchers

16 May 2007