Based on the TED talk by Sam Harris

Sanmit NarvekarCS 301

IntroductionScience does not have an official opinion on morality.

How can science help determine what values are moral?Science is based on facts.

Values are facts about the well being of conscious creatures.

Well being is open to interpretation, so what is objective?

Consider the example of physical healthPerception of what constitutes good health has changed

over the years.However, the difference between healthy and dead is

clear. Our well being is a product of our brain.

Culture changes our brain, and people are able to flourish in many different cultures.

Science and Human ValuesMoral landscape

There can be more than one answerConsider now the example of nutrition.

There are many healthy choices for food.However, there is a distinction between food and poison.

The fact that there are many right answers doesn’t mean there are no truths to be known about nutrition or morality.

Science as discovery There are truths to be known about morality, and

whether or not we know them has nothing to do with their existence.

Morality relates to this domain of truths, or facts.

How/Who can decide what is moral?Another thought experiment

Consider a continuous space with one end as extremely immoral, and the other as completely just.

We know there are right and wrong answers as to how to move in this space. We know some of these answers.

For the others, there is a conflict due to difference of opinion.

In science, only the authorities opinions countWhen talking about morality, we value differences in

opinion. Why do we think every one and every culture has a view worth considering?

When speaking in the realm of facts, certain opinions must be excluded. For example, a journalist’s opinion on physics is hardly worth considering.

He concludes by saying we must converge on these answers, and to do that, we must admit they have answers.

Critic ResponseA truth by definition should not have exceptions

Lying is a typical example. “If its wrong to lie, then it is always wrong to lie, and if you can find an exception, then there is no such thing as moral truth.”

Harris says truths as facts can have exceptions too.What is a truth?

Critics say scientific consensus implies scientific truths. Scientific controversy thus means more work needs to be done. However, in morality, they say controversy means there are no truths while consensus means people have certain preferences.

This is a double standard. Truths must transcend culture, and are not based on consensus.

Final Comments…Harris says that only “genuine moral experts

would have a deep understanding of the causes and condition of human and animal well being.” His primary argument is that there are truths, and

that every situation has right and wrong answers. However, he doesn’t talk about who are these moral

experts. He says that the answer to “Who decides what is a successful life” is “us,” but what makes our opinion count? Is it our brain? Does anyone that isn’t psychotic, or have a mental disorder, etc. count? But even these people have different, often conflicting opinions. We can’t therefore all be right.

What it comes down to is there are many right answers. This is what makes ethics so controversial, and it is up to us to discover the right answers.