Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook7 hours
Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition
Written by Patricia S. Churchland
Narrated by Suzie Althens
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
In Conscience, Patricia S. Churchland, the distinguished founder of neurophilosophy, explores how moral systems arise from our physical selves in combination with environmental demands.
All social groups have ideals for behavior, even though ethics vary among different cultures and among individuals within each culture. In trying to understand why, Churchland brings together an understanding of the influences of nature and nurture. She looks to evolution to elucidate how, from birth, our brains are configured to form bonds, to cooperate, and to care. Conscience delves into scientific studies, particularly the fascinating work on twins, to deepen our understanding of whether people have a predisposition to embrace specific ethical stands. Research on psychopaths illuminates the knowledge about those who abide by no moral system and the explanations science gives for these disturbing individuals.
Churchland then turns to philosophy-that of Socrates, Aquinas, and contemporary thinkers like Owen Flanagan-to explore why morality is central to all societies, how it is transmitted through the generations, and why different cultures live by different morals. Her unparalleled ability to join ideas rarely put into dialogue brings light to a subject that speaks to the meaning of being human.
All social groups have ideals for behavior, even though ethics vary among different cultures and among individuals within each culture. In trying to understand why, Churchland brings together an understanding of the influences of nature and nurture. She looks to evolution to elucidate how, from birth, our brains are configured to form bonds, to cooperate, and to care. Conscience delves into scientific studies, particularly the fascinating work on twins, to deepen our understanding of whether people have a predisposition to embrace specific ethical stands. Research on psychopaths illuminates the knowledge about those who abide by no moral system and the explanations science gives for these disturbing individuals.
Churchland then turns to philosophy-that of Socrates, Aquinas, and contemporary thinkers like Owen Flanagan-to explore why morality is central to all societies, how it is transmitted through the generations, and why different cultures live by different morals. Her unparalleled ability to join ideas rarely put into dialogue brings light to a subject that speaks to the meaning of being human.
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Reviews for Conscience
Rating: 3.727272709090909 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
11 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very disappointing. I expected a lot more from a philosopher with a strong neuroscience background. As far as a I know the neuroscience part of the book was accurate but it wasn’t told engagingly. And for a philosophy professor, I think the philosophy part of the book was really weak. Her discussion of free will in the last chapter was an embarrassment.