Conference: Biological Foundations of Morality

This post is based on a submission by reader Professor Daniel Bitran. Thank you! Please submit suggestions for posts to metaist.blog@gmail.com.

Announcement
From the conference event page:

How does what we are learning about the brain through neuroscience and evolutionary science influence how we ought to think about ethics?

Recent advances in functional neuroimaging have increased scientists' understanding of how our brains process moral decisions. Some thinkers suggest that moral decision making is fundamentally an intuitive or emotional process, and that what we call "reason" is a post-decision making method of justification for actions, not a "higher order" process for making decisions.

If so, the new science challenges the principle of free will, the argument that reason is the foundation of moral decision making, and the importance of understanding intentions before judging responsibility for action. The potential implications for most Western ethical traditions are enormous.

(Formatting added.)

The conference is Thursday-Friday, March 18-19, 2010 at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

See Also

• Agenda for the conference.
• About the Speakers at the conference.
• Thinking About Other People's Thoughts