We have grown through evolution to protect ourselves. Our early ancestor primates traveled in goes to protect him or herself in order to improve their survival rates. By working together, they were able to use their forced toward a centripetal group. However, throughout time primates and humans have evolved traits which may manipulated and used one ones advantage. Also, as humans, we try to cover up what we are responsible for. Another way of making problems easier to understand is by changing its name, otherwise known as a euphemism. we use methods that dispute arguments and disregard consequences in order to avoid complication. One example is by calling a drug addiction a disease or a brain disorder a social disorder.
Humans have evolved a large brain, which allows us to storage information in our minds about humans to our advantage. We are able to take in information about others and make moral decisions of what we believe is right or wrong. After extensive research, Bandura and Pinker have shown that morality is greatly based off lifestyle habits. Morality makes us who we are and allows us to make the “right choices”. As Pinker noted, one may state, “I do not kill”, yet one would not say “ I do not care if you kill”. Why do humans grow a prejudice against some issues and not others? What makes one care about certain things and not others? For example, I may believe that ordering a Big Mac is ethical and it does not harm the environment. However, I may believe that importing meat and cheese over international seas would deplete the environment. But, I think that would be wrong because BOTH would affect society greatly. Who has the right to state which is better and which is a “moral” choice? If we were told that it would not cause harm anyone or disrespect any levels of authority-would we be less likely to judge others choices? One may think that it may be just lifestyle, upbringing or direct peer influence that leads to “proper” morality, however on a scientific level, there is much more to it.
Humans are very complicated species with a large brain that may be studied for a lifetime. It has been noted that the cerebral cortex takes a long time to develop and drastically changes its path between birth and 2 years of age. It has been found that the way humans interact socially is greatly impacted by the growth of the neo cortex in the brain. Scientists have found that humans that have a large neo-cortex are capable of maintaining more relationships. Throughout evolution since the primates, the size of the neo-cortex has drastically increased in size thus leading to greater relationship capabilities. However, one thing that strikes me is that- if primates had a smaller sized neo-cortex and we have a large neo-cortex, why did primates travel in groups and rely so heavily on one another? You would think if humans had a greater capability of social networking, we would prefer to work in groups. However, we begin to see quite the opposite in humanity. Many people have become more selfish and lost their sense of divine leading to a preference of solidarity.
In a study completed in 2001, a scientist noted that there are brain areas, which are associated with emotion towards social interaction, and it directly linked to the cortex. He showed that the cortex had increased activity when a patient dealt with an issue with required a moral decision. I mean think about experiments that are done which ask patients whether they would throw an ill person off a boat in order to save the life of many others. Is it our moral instinct that leads us to the right choice? Or just the way we are “wired”? It seems as if is more than one reason of why human make certain decisions.
I remember reading an article a few years back while putting together a research paper about the brain in my psychology class. Interestingly enough, I found out that that during development the growth of the cortex would lead to detrimental behavioral changes. One of the main examples I researched was-Schizophrenia. It may (or may not-being that there are different levels of Schizophrenia) cause a person difficulty in understanding what is real or not or even what is right from wrong.
Most people are stumbled when they are forced to make a decision if they are unaware whether it is right or wrong. Granted, most of us are capable of figuring out the good from the bad. However, the fact that there may be humans and species which are incapable of making such a choice needs to be considered.
-Koenigs M, Young L, Adolphs R, Tranel D, Cushman F, Hauser M, Damasio A. "Damage to the Prefrontal Cortex Increases Utilitarian Judgments." Nature, April 19, 2007, Vol. 446(7138), pp. 908-911.
- Bandura Article
-Professor Hirsch Lecture- November 16th
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117884235401499300-search.htm
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