The Moral Instinct

Steven Pinker The New York Times

Which of the following people would you say is the most admirable: Mother Teresa, Bill Gates or Norman Borlau ! "nd which do you think is the least admirable! #or most $eo$le, it%s an easy &uestion' Mother Teresa, (amous (or ministerin to the $oor in )alcutta, has been beati(ied by the *atican, awarded the Nobel Peace Pri+e and ranked in an "merican $oll as the most admired $erson o( the ,-th century' Bill Gates, in(amous (or ivin us the Microso(t dancin $a$er cli$ and the blue screen o( death, has been deca$itated in e((i y in .I /ate Gates0 1eb sites and hit with a $ie in the (ace' "s (or Norman Borlau ' ' ' who the heck is Norman Borlau ! Yet a dee$er look mi ht lead you to rethink your answers' Borlau , (ather o( the .Green 2evolution0 that used a ricultural science to reduce world hun er, has been credited with savin a billion lives, more than anyone else in history' Gates, in decidin what to do with his (ortune, crunched the numbers and determined that he could alleviate the most misery by (i htin everyday scour es in the develo$in world like malaria, diarrhea and $arasites' Mother Teresa, (or her $art, e3tolled the virtue o( su((erin and ran her well4(inanced missions accordin ly: their sick $atrons were o((ered $lenty o( $rayer but harsh conditions, (ew anal esics and dan erously $rimitive medical care'

It%s not hard to see why the moral re$utations o( this trio should be so out o( line with the ood they have done' Mother Teresa was the very embodiment o( saintliness: white4clad, sad4eyed, ascetic and o(ten $hoto ra$hed with the wretched o( the earth' Gates is a nerd%s nerd and the world%s richest man, as likely to enter heaven as the $roverbial camel s&uee+in throu h the needle%s eye' "nd Borlau , now 56, is an a ronomist who has s$ent his li(e in labs and non$ro(its, seldom walkin onto the media sta e, and hence into our consciousness, at all' I doubt these e3am$les will $ersuade anyone to (avor Bill Gates over Mother Teresa (or sainthood' But they show that our heads can be turned by an aura o( sanctity, distractin us (rom a more ob7ective reckonin o( the actions that make $eo$le su((er or (lourish' It seems we may all be vulnerable to moral illusions the ethical e&uivalent o( the bendin lines that trick the eye on cereal bo3es and in $sycholo y te3tbooks' Illusions are a (avorite tool o( $erce$tion scientists (or e3$osin the workin s o( the (ive senses, and o( $hiloso$hers (or shakin $eo$le out o( the na8ve belie( that our minds ive us a trans$arent window onto the world 9since i( our eyes can be (ooled by an illusion, why should we trust them at other times!:' Today, a new (ield is usin illusions to unmask a si3th sense, the moral sense' Moral intuitions are bein drawn out o( $eo$le in the lab, on 1eb sites and in brain scanners, and are bein e3$lained with tools (rom ame theory, neuroscience and evolutionary biolo y' .Two thin s (ill the mind with ever new and increasin admiration and awe, the o(tener and more steadily we re(lect on them,0 wrote Immanuel ;ant, .the starry heavens above and the moral law within'0 These days, the moral law within is bein viewed with increasin awe, i( not always admiration' The human moral sense turns out to be an or an o( considerable com$le3ity, with &uirks that re(lect its evolutionary history and its neurobiolo ical (oundations' These &uirks are bound to have im$lications (or the human $redicament' Morality is not 7ust any old to$ic in $sycholo y but close to our conce$tion o( the meanin o( li(e' Moral oodness is what ives each o( us the sense that we are worthy human bein s' 1e seek it in our (riends and mates, nurture it in our children, advance it in our $olitics and 7usti(y it with our reli ions' " disres$ect (or morality is blamed (or everyday sins and history%s worst atrocities' To carry this wei ht, the conce$t o( morality would have to be bi er than any o( us and outside all o( us' So dissectin moral intuitions is no small matter' I( morality is a mere trick o( the brain, some may (ear, our very rounds (or bein moral could be eroded' Yet as we shall see, the science o( the moral sense can instead be seen as a way to stren then those rounds, by clari(yin what morality is and how it should steer our actions'

The Moralization Switch The startin $oint (or a$$reciatin that there is a distinctive $art o( our $sycholo y (or morality is seein how moral 7ud ments di((er (rom other kinds o( o$inions we have on how $eo$le ou ht to behave' Morali+ation is a $sycholo ical state that can be turned on and o(( like a switch, and when it is on, a distinctive mind4set commandeers our thinkin ' This is the mind4set that makes us deem actions immoral 9.killin is wron 0:, rather than merely disa reeable 9.I hate brussels s$routs0:, un(ashionable 9.bell4bottoms are out0: or im$rudent 9.don%t scratch mos&uito bites0:' The (irst hallmark o( morali+ation is that the rules it invokes are (elt to be universal' Prohibitions o( ra$e and murder, (or e3am$le, are (elt not to be matters o( local custom but to be universally and ob7ectively warranted' <ne can easily say, .I don%t like brussels s$routs, but I don%t care i( you eat them,0 but no one would say, .I don%t like killin , but I don%t care i( you murder someone'0 The other hallmark is that $eo$le (eel that those who commit immoral acts deserve to be $unished' Not only is it allowable to in(lict $ain on a $erson who has broken a moral rule= it is wron not to, to .let them et away with it'0 Peo$le are thus untroubled in invitin divine retribution or the $ower o( the state to harm other $eo$le they deem immoral' Bertrand 2ussell wrote, .The in(liction o( cruelty with a ood conscience is a deli ht to moralists > that is why they invented hell'0 1e all know what it (eels like when the morali+ation switch (li$s inside us > the ri hteous low, the burnin dud eon, the drive to recruit others to the cause' The $sycholo ist Paul 2o+in has studied the to le switch by com$arin two kinds o( $eo$le who en a e in the same behavior but with di((erent switch settin s' /ealth ve etarians avoid meat (or $ractical reasons, like lowerin cholesterol and avoidin to3ins' Moral ve etarians avoid meat (or ethical reasons: to avoid com$licity in the su((erin o( animals' By investi atin their (eelin s about meat4eatin , 2o+in showed that the moral motive sets o(( a cascade o( o$inions' Moral ve etarians are more likely to treat meat as a contaminant > they re(use, (or e3am$le, to eat a bowl o( sou$ into which a dro$ o( bee( broth has (allen' They are more likely to think that other $eo$le ou ht to be ve etarians, and are more likely to imbue their dietary habits with other virtues, like believin that meat avoidance makes $eo$le less a ressive and bestial' Much o( our recent social history, includin the culture wars between liberals and conservatives, consists o( the morali+ation or amorali+ation o( $articular kinds o( behavior' ?ven when $eo$le a ree that an outcome is desirable, they may disa ree on whether it should be treated as a matter o( $re(erence and $rudence or as a matter o( sin and virtue' 2o+in notes, (or e3am$le, that smokin has lately been morali+ed' @ntil recently, it was understood that some $eo$le didn%t en7oy smokin or avoided it because it was ha+ardous to their health' But with the discovery o( the harm(ul e((ects o(

secondhand smoke, smokin is now treated as immoral' Smokers are ostraci+ed= ima es o( $eo$le smokin are censored= and entities touched by smoke are (elt to be contaminated 9so hotels have not only nonsmokin rooms but nonsmokin floors:' The desire (or retribution has been visited on tobacco com$anies, who have been sla$$ed with sta erin .$unitive dama es'0 "t the same time, many behaviors have been amorali+ed, switched (rom moral (ailin s to li(estyle choices' They include divorce, ille itimacy, bein a workin mother, mari7uana use and homose3uality' Many a((lictions have been reassi ned (rom $ayback (or bad choices to unlucky mis(ortunes' There used to be $eo$le called .bums0 and .tram$s0= today they are .homeless'0 Aru addiction is a .disease0= sy$hilis was rebranded (rom the $rice o( wanton behavior to a .se3ually transmitted disease0 and more recently a .se3ually transmitted in(ection'0 This wave o( amorali+ation has led the cultural ri ht to lament that morality itsel( is under assault, as we see in the rou$ that anointed itsel( the Moral Ma7ority' In (act there seems to be a Baw o( )onservation o( Morali+ation, so that as old behaviors are taken out o( the morali+ed column, new ones are added to it' Ao+ens o( thin s that $ast enerations treated as $ractical matters are now ethical battle rounds, includin dis$osable dia$ers, I'C' tests, $oultry (arms, Barbie dolls and research on breast cancer' #ood alone has become a mine(ield, with critics sermoni+in about the si+e o( sodas, the chemistry o( (at, the (reedom o( chickens, the $rice o( co((ee beans, the s$ecies o( (ish and now the distance the (ood has traveled (rom (arm to $late' Many o( these morali+ations, like the assault on smokin , may be understood as $ractical tactics to reduce some recently identi(ied harm' But whether an activity (li$s our mental switches to the .moral0 settin isn%t 7ust a matter o( how much harm it does' 1e don%t show contem$t to the man who (ails to chan e the batteries in his smoke alarms or takes his (amily on a drivin vacation, both o( which multi$ly the risk they will die in an accident' Arivin a as4 u++lin /ummer is re$rehensible, but drivin a as4 u++lin old *olvo is not= eatin a Bi Mac is unconscionable, but not im$orted cheese or crDme brElFe' The reason (or these double standards is obvious: $eo$le tend to ali n their morali+ation with their own li(estyles' Reasoning and Rationalizing It%s not 7ust the content o( our moral 7ud ments that is o(ten &uestionable, but the way we arrive at them' 1e like to think that when we have a conviction, there are ood reasons that drove us to ado$t it' That is why an older a$$roach to moral $sycholo y, led by Gean Pia et and Bawrence ;ohlber , tried to document the lines o( reasonin that uided $eo$le to moral conclusions' But consider these situations, ori inally devised by the $sycholo ist Gonathan /aidt:

Gulie is travelin in #rance on summer vacation (rom colle e with her brother Mark' <ne ni ht they decide that it would be interestin and (un i( they tried makin love' Gulie was already takin birth4 control $ills, but Mark uses a condom, too, 7ust to be sa(e' They both en7oy the se3 but decide not to do it a ain' They kee$ the ni ht as a s$ecial secret, which makes them (eel closer to each other' 1hat do you think about that > was it <';' (or them to make love! " woman is cleanin out her closet and she (inds her old "merican (la ' She doesn%t want the (la anymore, so she cuts it u$ into $ieces and uses the ra s to clean her bathroom' " (amily%s do is killed by a car in (ront o( their house' They heard that do meat was delicious, so they cut u$ the do %s body and cook it and eat it (or dinner' Most $eo$le immediately declare that these acts are wron and then ro$e to 7usti(y whythey are wron ' It%s not so easy' In the case o( Gulie and Mark, $eo$le raise the $ossibility o( children with birth de(ects, but they are reminded that the cou$le were dili ent aboutcontrace$tion' They su est that the siblin s will be emotionally hurt, but the story makes it clear that they weren%t' They submit that the act would o((end the community, but then recall that it was ke$t a secret' ?ventually many $eo$le admit, .I don%t know, I can%t e3$lain it, I 7ust know it%s wron '0 Peo$le don%t enerally en a e in moral reasonin , /aidt ar ues, but moral rationalization: they be in with the conclusion, cou hed u$ by an unconscious emotion, and then work backward to a $lausible 7usti(ication' The a$ between $eo$le%s convictions and their 7usti(ications is also on dis$lay in the (avorite new sandbo3 (or moral $sycholo ists, a thou ht e3$eriment devised by the $hiloso$hers Phili$$a #oot and Gudith Garvis Thomson called the Trolley Problem' <n your mornin walk, you see a trolley car hurtlin down the track, the conductor slum$ed over the controls' In the $ath o( the trolley are (ive men workin on the track, oblivious to the dan er' You are standin at a (ork in the track and can $ull a lever that will divert the trolley onto a s$ur, savin the (ive men' @n(ortunately, the trolley would then run over a sin le worker who is laborin on the s$ur' Is it $ermissible to throw the switch, killin one man to save (ive! "lmost everyone says .yes'0 )onsider now a di((erent scene' You are on a brid e overlookin the tracks and have s$otted the runaway trolley bearin down on the (ive workers' Now the only way to sto$ the trolley is to throw a heavy ob7ect in its $ath' "nd the only heavy ob7ect within reach is a (at man standin ne3t to you' Should you throw the man o(( the brid e! Both dilemmas $resent you with the o$tion o( sacri(icin one li(e to save (ive, and so, by the utilitarian standard o( what would result in the reatest ood (or the reatest number, the two dilemmas are morally e&uivalent' But most $eo$le don%t see it that way: thou h they would $ull the switch in the (irst dilemma, they would not heave the (at man in the

second' 1hen $ressed (or a reason, they can%t come u$ with anythin coherent, thou h moral $hiloso$hers haven%t had an easy time comin u$ with a relevant di((erence, either' 1hen $sycholo ists say .most $eo$le0 they usually mean .most o( the two do+en so$homores who (illed out a &uestionnaire (or beer money'0 But in this case it means most o( the ,--,--- $eo$le (rom a hundred countries who shared their intuitions on a 1eb4based e3$eriment conducted by the $sycholo ists #iery )ushman and Biane Youn and the biolo ist Marc /auser' " di((erence between the acce$tability o( switch4$ullin and man4heavin , and an inability to 7usti(y the choice, was (ound in res$ondents (rom ?uro$e, "sia and North and South "merica= amon men and women, blacks and whites, teena ers and octo enarians, /indus, Muslims, Buddhists, )hristians, Gews and atheists= $eo$le with elementary4school educations and $eo$le with Ph'A'%s' Goshua Greene, a $hiloso$her and co nitive neuroscientist, su ests that evolution e&ui$$ed $eo$le with a revulsion to manhandlin an innocent $erson' This instinct, he su ests, tends to overwhelm any utilitarian calculus that would tot u$ the lives saved and lost' The im$ulse a ainst rou hin u$ a (ellow human would e3$lain other e3am$les in which $eo$le ab7ure killin one to save many, like euthani+in a hos$ital $atient to harvest his or ans and save (ive dyin $atients in need o( trans$lants, or throwin someone out o( a crowded li(eboat to kee$ it a(loat' By itsel( this would be no more than a $lausible story, but Greene teamed u$ with the co nitive neuroscientist Gonathan )ohen and several Princeton collea ues to $eer into $eo$le%s brains usin (unctional M'2'I' They sou ht to (ind si ns o( a con(lict between brain areas associated with emotion 9the ones that recoil (rom harmin someone: and areas dedicated to rational analysis 9the ones that calculate lives lost and saved:' 1hen $eo$le $ondered the dilemmas that re&uired killin someone with their bare hands, several networks in their brains li hted u$' <ne, which included the medial 9inward4(acin : $arts o( the (rontal lobes, has been im$licated in emotions about other $eo$le' " second, the dorsolateral 9u$$er and outer4(acin : sur(ace o( the (rontal lobes, has been im$licated in on oin mental com$utation 9includin nonmoral reasonin , like decidin whether to et somewhere by $lane or train:' "nd a third re ion, the anterior cin ulate corte3 9an evolutionarily ancient stri$ lyin at the base o( the inner sur(ace o( each cerebral hemis$here:, re isters a con(lict between an ur e comin (rom one $art o( the brain and an advisory comin (rom another' But when the $eo$le were $onderin a hands4o(( dilemma, like switchin the trolley onto the s$ur with the sin le worker, the brain reacted di((erently: only the area involved in rational calculation stood out' <ther studies have shown that neurolo ical $atients who have blunted emotions because o( dama e to the (rontal lobes become utilitarians: they think it makes $er(ect sense to throw the (at

man o(( the brid e' To ether, the (indin s corroborate Greene%s theory that our nonutilitarian intuitions come (rom the victory o( an emotional im$ulse over a cost4bene(it analysis' A Universal Morality? The (indin s o( trolleyolo y > com$le3, instinctive and worldwide moral intuitions > led /auser and Gohn Mikhail 9a le al scholar: to revive an analo y (rom the $hiloso$her Gohn 2awls between the moral sense and lan ua e' "ccordin to Noam )homsky, we are born with a .universal rammar0 that (orces us to analy+e s$eech in terms o( its rammatical structure, with no conscious awareness o( the rules in $lay' By analo y, we are born with a universal moral rammar that (orces us to analy+e human action in terms o( its moral structure, with 7ust as little awareness' The idea that the moral sense is an innate $art o( human nature is not (ar4(etched' " list o( human universals collected by the anthro$olo ist Aonald ?' Brown includes many moral conce$ts and emotions, includin a distinction between ri ht and wron = em$athy= (airness= admiration o( enerosity= ri hts and obli ations= $roscri$tion o( murder, ra$e and other (orms o( violence= redress o( wron s= sanctions (or wron s a ainst the community= shame= and taboos' The stirrin s o( morality emer e early in childhood' Toddlers s$ontaneously o((er toys and hel$ to others and try to com(ort $eo$le they see in distress' "nd accordin to the $sycholo ists ?lliot Turiel and Gudith Smetana, $reschoolers have an inklin o( the di((erence between societal conventions and moral $rinci$les' #our4year4olds say that it is not <';' to wear $a7amas to school 9a convention: and also not <';' to hit a little irl (or no reason 9a moral $rinci$le:' But when asked whether these actions would be <';' i( the teacher allowed them, most o( the children said that wearin $a7amas would now be (ine but that hittin a little irl would still not be' Thou h no one has identi(ied enes (or morality, there is circumstantial evidence they e3ist' The character traits called .conscientiousness0 and .a reeableness0 are (ar more correlated in identical twins se$arated at birth 9who share their enes but not their environment: than in ado$tive siblin s raised to ether 9who share their environment but not their enes:' Peo$le iven dia noses o( .antisocial $ersonality disorder0 or .$sycho$athy0 show si ns o( morality blindness (rom the time they are children' They bully youn er children, torture animals, habitually lie and seem inca$able o( em$athy or remorse, o(ten des$ite normal (amily back rounds' Some o( these children row u$ into the monsters who bilk elderly $eo$le out o( their savin s, ra$e a succession o( women or shoot convenience4store clerks lyin on the (loor durin a robbery' Thou h $sycho$athy $robably comes (rom a enetic $redis$osition, a milder version can be caused by dama e to (rontal re ions o( the brain 9includin the areas that inhibit intact $eo$le (rom throwin

the hy$othetical (at man o(( the brid e:' The neuroscientists /anna and "ntonio Aamasio and their collea ues (ound that some children who sustain severe in7uries to their (rontal lobes can row u$ into callous and irres$onsible adults, des$ite normal intelli ence' They lie, steal, i nore $unishment, endan er their own children and can%t think throu h even the sim$lest moral dilemmas, like what two $eo$le should do i( they disa reed on which T* channel to watch or whether a man ou ht to steal a dru to save his dyin wi(e' The moral sense, then, may be rooted in the desi n o( the normal human brain' Yet (or all the awe that may (ill our minds when we re(lect on an innate moral law within, the idea is at best incom$lete' )onsider this moral dilemma: " runaway trolley is about to kill a schoolteacher' You can divert the trolley onto a sidetrack, but the trolley would tri$ a switch sendin a si nal to a class o( H4year4olds, ivin them $ermission to name a teddy bear Muhammad' Is it $ermissible to $ull the lever! This is no 7oke' Bast month a British woman teachin in a $rivate school in Sudan allowed her class to name a teddy bear a(ter the most $o$ular boy in the class, who bore the name o( the (ounder o( Islam' She was 7ailed (or blas$hemy and threatened with a $ublic (lo in , while a mob outside the $rison demanded her death' To the $rotesters, the woman%s li(e clearly had less value than ma3imi+in the di nity o( their reli ion, and their 7ud ment on whether it is ri ht to divert the hy$othetical trolley would have di((ered (rom ours' 1hatever rammar uides $eo$le%s moral 7ud ments can%t be all that universal' "nyone who stayed awake throu h "nthro$olo y I-I can o((er many other e3am$les' <( course, lan ua es vary, too' In )homsky%s theory, lan ua es con(orm to an abstract blue$rint, like havin $hrases built out o( verbs and ob7ects, while the details vary, like whether the verb or the ob7ect comes (irst' )ould we be wired with an abstract s$ec sheet that embraces all the stran e ideas that $eo$le in di((erent cultures morali+e! The Varieties of Moral Experience 1hen anthro$olo ists like 2ichard Shweder and "lan #iske survey moral concerns across the lobe, they (ind that a (ew themes kee$ $o$$in u$ (rom amid the diversity' Peo$le everywhere, at least in some circumstances and with certain other (olks in mind, think it%s bad to harm others and ood to hel$ them' They have a sense o( (airness: that one should reci$rocate (avors, reward bene(actors and $unish cheaters' They value loyalty to a rou$, sharin and solidarity amon its members and con(ormity to its norms' They believe that it is ri ht to de(er to le itimate authorities and to res$ect $eo$le with hi h status' "nd they e3alt $urity, cleanliness and sanctity while loathin de(ilement, contamination and carnality'

The e3act number o( themes de$ends on whether you%re a lum$er or a s$litter, but /aidt counts (ive > harm, (airness, community 9or rou$ loyalty:, authority and $urity > and su ests that they are the $rimary colors o( our moral sense' Not only do they kee$ rea$$earin in cross4cultural surveys, but each one tu s on the moral intuitions o( $eo$le in our own culture' /aidt asks us to consider how much money someone would have to $ay us to do hy$othetical acts like the (ollowin : Stick a $in into your $alm' Stick a $in into the $alm o( a child you don%t know' 9/arm': "cce$t a wide4screen T* (rom a (riend who received it at no char e because o( a com$uter error' "cce$t a wide4screen T* (rom a (riend who received it (rom a thie( who had stolen it (rom a wealthy (amily' 9#airness': Say somethin bad about your nation 9which you don%t believe: on a talk4radio show in your nation' Say somethin bad about your nation 9which you don%t believe: on a talk4radio show in a (orei n nation' 9)ommunity': Sla$ a (riend in the (ace, with his $ermission, as $art o( a comedy skit' Sla$ your minister in the (ace, with his $ermission, as $art o( a comedy skit' 9"uthority': "ttend a $er(ormance4art $iece in which the actors act like idiots (or 6- minutes, includin (lubbin sim$le $roblems and (allin down on sta e' "ttend a $er(ormance4art $iece in which the actors act like animals (or 6- minutes, includin crawlin around naked and urinatin on sta e' 9Purity': In each $air, the second action (eels (ar more re$u nant' Most o( the moral illusions we have visited come (rom an unwarranted intrusion o( one o( the moral s$heres into our 7ud ments' " violation o( community led $eo$le to (rown on usin an old (la to clean a bathroom' *iolations o( $urity re$elled the $eo$le who 7ud ed the morality o( consensual incest and $revented the moral ve etarians and nonsmokers (rom toleratin the sli htest trace o( a vile contaminant' "t the other end o( the scale, dis$lays o( e3treme $urity lead $eo$le to venerate reli ious leaders who dress in white and a((ect an aura o( chastity and asceticism' The Genealogy of Morals

The (ive s$heres are ood candidates (or a $eriodic table o( the moral sense not only because they are ubi&uitous but also because they a$$ear to have dee$ evolutionary roots' The im$ulse to avoid harm, which ives trolley $onderers the willies when they consider throwin a man o(( a brid e, can also be (ound in rhesus monkeys, who o hun ry rather than $ull a chain that delivers (ood to them and a shock to another monkey' 2es$ect (or authority is clearly related to the $eckin orders o( dominance and a$$easement that are wides$read in the animal kin dom' The $urity4de(ilement contrast ta$s the emotion o( dis ust that is tri ered by $otential disease vectors like bodily e((luvia, decayin (lesh and unconventional (orms o( meat, and by risky se3ual $ractices like incest' The other two morali+ed s$heres match u$ with the classic e3am$les o( how altruism can evolve that were worked out by sociobiolo ists in the I5H-s and I5J-s and made (amous by 2ichard Aawkins in his book .The Sel(ish Gene'0 #airness is very close to what scientists call reci$rocal altruism, where a willin ness to be nice to others can evolve as lon as the (avor hel$s the reci$ient more than it costs the iver and the reci$ient returns the (avor when (ortunes reverse' The analysis makes it sound as i( reci$rocal altruism comes out o( a robotlike calculation, but in (act 2obert Trivers, the biolo ist who devised the theory, ar ued that it is im$lemented in the brain as a suite o( moral emotions' Sym$athy $rom$ts a $erson to o((er the (irst (avor, $articularly to someone in need (or whom it would o the (urthest' "n er $rotects a $erson a ainst cheaters who acce$t a (avor without reci$rocatin , by im$ellin him to $unish the in rate or sever the relationshi$' Gratitude im$els a bene(iciary to reward those who hel$ed him in the $ast' Guilt $rom$ts a cheater in dan er o( bein (ound out to re$air the relationshi$ by redressin the misdeed and advertisin that he will behave better in the (uture 9consistent with Mencken%s de(inition o( conscience as .the inner voice which warns us that someone mi ht be lookin 0:' Many e3$eriments on who hel$s whom, who likes whom, who $unishes whom and who (eels uilty about what have con(irmed these $redictions' )ommunity, the very di((erent emotion that $rom$ts $eo$le to share and sacri(ice without an e3$ectation o( $ayback, may be rooted in ne$otistic altruism, the em$athy and solidarity we (eel toward our relatives 9and which evolved because any ene that $ushed an or anism to aid a relative would have hel$ed co$ies o( itsel( sittin inside that relative:' In humans, o( course, communal (eelin s can be lavished on nonrelatives as well' Sometimes it $ays $eo$le 9in an evolutionary sense: to love their com$anions because their interests are yoked, like s$ouses with common children, in4 laws with common relatives, (riends with common tastes or allies with common enemies' "nd sometimes it doesn%t $ay them at all, but their kinshi$4detectors have been tricked into treatin their rou$mates as i( they were relatives by tactics like kinshi$ meta$hors 9 blood brothers,fraternities, the fatherland:, ori in myths, communal meals and other bondin rituals' !ggling the Spheres

"ll this brin s us to a theory o( how the moral sense can be universal and variable at the same time' The (ive moral s$heres are universal, a le acy o( evolution' But how they are ranked in im$ortance, and which is brou ht in to morali+e which area o( social li(e > se3, overnment, commerce, reli ion, diet and so on > de$ends on the culture' Many o( the (labber astin $ractices in (araway $laces become more intelli ible when you reco ni+e that the same morali+in im$ulse that 1estern elites channel toward violations o( harm and (airness 9our moral obsessions: is channeled elsewhere to violations in the other s$heres' Think o( the Ga$anese (ear o( noncon(ormity 9community:, the holy ablutions and dietary restrictions o( /indus and <rthodo3 Gews 9$urity:, the outra e at insultin the Pro$het amon Muslims 9authority:' In the 1est, we believe that in business and overnment, (airness should trum$ community and try to root out ne$otism and cronyism' In other $arts o( the world this is incom$rehensible > what heartless cree$ would (avor a $er(ect stran er over his own brother! The rankin and $lacement o( moral s$heres also divides the cultures o( liberals and conservatives in the @nited States' Many bones o( contention, like homose3uality, atheism and one4$arent (amilies (rom the ri ht, or racial imbalances, sweatsho$s and e3ecutive $ay (rom the le(t, re(lect di((erent wei htin s o( the s$heres' In a lar e 1eb survey, /aidt (ound that liberals $ut a lo$sided moral wei ht on harm and (airness while $layin down rou$ loyalty, authority and $urity' )onservatives instead $lace a moderately hi h wei ht on all (ive' It%s not sur$risin that each side thinks it is driven by lo(ty ethical values and that the other side is base and un$rinci$led' 2eassi nin an activity to a di((erent s$here, or takin it out o( the moral s$heres alto ether, isn%t easy' Peo$le think that a behavior belon s in its s$here as a matter o( sacred necessity and that the very act o( &uestionin an assi nment is a moral outra e' The $sycholo ist Phili$ Tetlock has shown that the mentality o( taboo > a conviction that some thou hts are sin(ul to think > is not 7ust a su$erstition o( Polynesians but a mind4set that can easily be tri ered in colle e4educated "mericans' Gust ask them to think about a$$lyin the s$here o( reci$rocity to relationshi$s customarily overned by community or authority' 1hen Tetlock asked sub7ects (or their o$inions on whether ado$tion a encies should $lace children with the cou$les willin to $ay the most, whether $eo$le should have the ri ht to sell their or ans and whether they should be able to buy their way out o( 7ury duty, the sub7ects not only disa reed but (elt $ersonally insulted and were outra ed that anyone would raise the &uestion' The institutions o( modernity o(ten &uestion and e3$eriment with the way activities are assi ned to moral s$heres' Market economies tend to $ut everythin u$ (or sale' Science amorali+es the world by seekin to understand $henomena rather than $ass 7ud ment on them' Secular $hiloso$hy is in the business o( scrutini+in all belie(s, includin those entrenched by authority and tradition' It%s not sur$risin that these institutions are o(ten seen to be morally corrosive'

"s #othing Sacred? "nd .morally corrosive0 is e3actly the term that some critics would a$$ly to the new science o( the moral sense' The attem$t to dissect our moral intuitions can look like an attem$t to debunk them' ?volutionary $sycholo ists seem to want to unmask our noblest motives as ultimately sel(4interested > to show that our love (or children, com$assion (or the un(ortunate and sense o( 7ustice are 7ust tactics in a Aarwinian stru le to $er$etuate our enes' The e3$lanation o( how di((erent cultures a$$eal to di((erent s$heres could lead to a s$ineless relativism, in which we would never have rounds to critici+e the $ractice o( another culture, no matter how barbaric, because .we have our kind o( morality and they have theirs'0 "nd the whole enter$rise seems to be dra in us to an amoral nihilism, in which morality itsel( would be demoted (rom a transcendent $rinci$le to a (i ment o( our neural circuitry' In reality, none o( these (ears are warranted, and it%s im$ortant to see why not' The (irst misunderstandin involves the lo ic o( evolutionary e3$lanations' ?volutionary biolo ists sometimes anthro$omor$hi+e AN" (or the same reason that science teachers (ind it use(ul to have their students ima ine the world (rom the view$oint o( a molecule or a beam o( li ht' <ne shortcut to understandin the theory o( selection without workin throu h the math is to ima ine that the enes are little a ents that try to make co$ies o( themselves' @n(ortunately, the meme o( the sel(ish ene esca$ed (rom $o$ular biolo y books and mutated into the idea that or anisms 9includin $eo$le: are ruthlessly sel(4servin ' "nd this doesn%t (ollow' Genes are not a reservoir o( our dark unconscious wishes' .Sel(ish0 enes are $er(ectly com$atible with sel(less or anisms, because a ene%s meta$horical oal o( sel(ishly re$licatin itsel( can be im$lemented by wirin u$ the brain o( the or anism to do unsel(ish thin s, like bein nice to relatives or doin ood deeds (or needy stran ers' 1hen a mother stays u$ all ni ht com(ortin a sick child, the enes that endowed her with that tenderness were .sel(ish0 in a meta$horical sense, but by no stretch o( the ima ination is she bein sel(ish' Nor does reci$rocal altruism > the evolutionary rationale behind (airness > im$ly that $eo$le do ood deeds in the cynical e3$ectation o( re$ayment down the line' 1e all know o( unre&uited ood deeds, like ti$$in a waitress in a city you will never visit a ain and (allin on a renade to save $latoonmates' These bursts o( oodness are not as anomalous to a biolo ist as they mi ht a$$ear' In his classic I5JI article, Trivers, the biolo ist, showed how natural selection could $ush in the direction o( true sel(lessness' The emer ence o( tit4(or4tat reci$rocity, which lets or anisms trade (avors without bein cheated, is 7ust a (irst ste$' " (avor4 iver not only has to avoid blatant cheaters 9those who would acce$t a (avor but not return it: but also $re(er enerous reci$rocators 9those who

return the bi est (avor they can a((ord: over stin y ones 9those who return the smallest (avor they can et away with:' Since it%s ood to be chosen as a reci$ient o( (avors, a com$etition arises to be the most enerous $artner around' More accurately, a com$etition arises to appear to be the most enerous $artner around, since the (avor4 iver can%t literally read minds or see into the (uture' " re$utation (or (airness and enerosity becomes an asset' Now this 7ust sets u$ a com$etition (or $otential bene(iciaries to in(late their re$utations without makin the sacri(ices to back them u$' But it also $ressures the (avor4 iver to develo$ ever4more4 sensitive radar to distin uish the enuinely enerous $artners (rom the hy$ocrites' This arms race will eventually reach a lo ical conclusion' The most e((ective way to seem enerous and (air, under harsh scrutiny, is to be enerous and (air' In the lon run, then, re$utation can be secured only by commitment' "t least some a ents evolve to be enuinely hi h4minded and sel(4sacri(icin > they are moral not because o( what it brin s them but because that%s the kind o( $eo$le they are' <( course, a theory that $redicted that everyone always sacri(iced themselves (or another%s ood would be as $re$osterous as a theory that $redicted that no one ever did' "lon side the niches (or saints there are niches (or more rud in reci$rocators, who attract (ewer and $oorer $artners but don%t make the sacri(ices necessary (or a sterlin re$utation' "nd both may coe3ist with outri ht cheaters, who e3$loit the unwary in one4shot encounters' "n ecosystem o( niches, each with a distinct strate y, can evolve when the $ayo(( o( each strate y de$ends on how many $layers are $layin the other strate ies' The human social environment does have its share o( enerous, rud in and crooked characters, and the enetic variation in $ersonality seems to bear the (in er$rints o( this evolutionary $rocess' "s Morality a $ig%ent? So a biolo ical understandin o( the moral sense does not entail that $eo$le are calculatin ma3imi+ers o( their enes or sel(4interest' But where does it leave the conce$t o( morality itsel(! /ere is the worry' The scienti(ic outlook has tau ht us that some $arts o( our sub7ective e3$erience are $roducts o( our biolo ical makeu$ and have no ob7ective counter$art in the world' The &ualitative di((erence between red and reen, the tastiness o( (ruit and (oulness o( carrion, the scariness o( hei hts and $rettiness o( (lowers are desi n (eatures o( our common nervous system, and i( our s$ecies had evolved in a di((erent ecosystem or i( we were missin a (ew enes, our reactions could o the other way' Now, i( the distinction between ri ht and wron is also a $roduct o( brain wirin , why should we believe it is any more real than the distinction between red and reen! "nd i( it is 7ust a collective hallucination, how could we ar ue that evils like enocide and slavery are wron (or everyone, rather than 7ust distaste(ul to us!

Puttin God in char e o( morality is one way to solve the $roblem, o( course, but Plato made short work o( it ,,K-- years a o' Aoes God have a ood reason (or desi natin certain acts as moral and others as immoral! I( not > i( his dictates are divine whims > why should we take them seriously! Su$$ose that God commanded us to torture a child' 1ould that make it all ri ht, or would some other standard ive us reasons to resist! "nd i(, on the other hand, God was (orced by moral reasons to issue some dictates and not others > i( a command to torture a child was never an o$tion > then why not a$$eal to those reasons directly! This throws us back to wonderin where those reasons could come (rom, i( they are more than 7ust (i ments o( our brains' They certainly aren%t in the $hysical world like wavelen th or mass' The only other o$tion is that moral truths e3ist in some abstract Platonic realm, there (or us to discover, $erha$s in the same way that mathematical truths 9accordin to most mathematicians: are there (or us to discover' <n this analo y, we are born with a rudimentary conce$t o( number, but as soon as we build on it with (ormal mathematical reasonin , the nature o( mathematical reality (orces us to discover some truths and not others' 9No one who understands the conce$t o( two, the conce$t o( (our and the conce$t o( addition can come to any conclusion but that , L , M K': Perha$s we are born with a rudimentary moral sense, and as soon as we build on it with moral reasonin , the nature o( moral reality (orces us to some conclusions but not others' Moral realism, as this idea is called, is too rich (or many $hiloso$hers% blood' Yet a diluted version o( the idea > i( not a list o( cosmically inscribed Thou4Shalts, then at least a (ew I(4Thens > is not cra+y' Two (eatures o( reality $oint any rational, sel(4$reservin social a ent in a moral direction' "nd they could $rovide a benchmark (or determinin when the 7ud ments o( our moral sense are ali ned with morality itsel(' <ne is the $revalence o( non+ero4sum ames' In many arenas o( li(e, two $arties are ob7ectively better o(( i( they both act in a nonsel(ish way than i( each o( them acts sel(ishly' You and I are both better o(( i( we share our sur$luses, rescue each other%s children in dan er and re(rain (rom shootin at each other, com$ared with hoardin our sur$luses while they rot, lettin the other%s child drown while we (ile our nails or (eudin like the /at(ields and Mc)oys' Granted, I mi ht be a bit better o(( i( I acted sel(ishly at your e3$ense and you $layed the sucker, but the same is true (or you with me, so i( each o( us tried (or these advanta es, we%d both end u$ worse o((' "ny neutral observer, and you and I i( we could talk it over rationally, would have to conclude that the state we should aim (or is the one in which we both are unsel(ish' These s$readsheet $ro7ections are not &uirks o( brain wirin , nor are they dictated by a su$ernatural $ower= they are in the nature o( thin s' The other e3ternal su$$ort (or morality is a (eature o( rationality itsel(: that it cannot de$end on the e ocentric vanta e $oint o( the reasoner' I( I a$$eal to you to do anythin that a((ects me > to et

o(( my (oot, or tell me the time or not run me over with your car > then I can%t do it in a way that $rivile es my interests over yours 9say, retainin my ri ht to run you over with my car: i( I want you to take me seriously' @nless I am Galactic <verlord, I have to state my case in a way that would (orce me to treat you in kind' I can%t act as i( my interests are s$ecial 7ust because I%m me and you%re not, any more than I can $ersuade you that the s$ot I am standin on is a s$ecial $lace in the universe 7ust because I ha$$en to be standin on it' Not coincidentally, the core o( this idea > the interchan eability o( $ers$ectives > kee$s rea$$earin in history%s best4thou ht4throu h moral $hiloso$hies, includin the Golden 2ule 9itsel( discovered many times:= S$ino+a%s *iew$oint o( ?ternity= the Social )ontract o( /obbes, 2ousseau and Bocke= ;ant%s )ate orical Im$erative= and 2awls%s *eil o( I norance' It also underlies Peter Sin er%s theory o( the ?3$andin )ircle > the o$timistic $ro$osal that our moral sense, thou h sha$ed by evolution to overvalue sel(, kin and clan, can $ro$el us on a $ath o( moral $ro ress, as our reasonin (orces us to enerali+e it to lar er and lar er circles o( sentient bein s'

&oing 'etter (y )nowing *!rselves Morality, then, is still somethin lar er than our inherited moral sense, and the new science o( the moral sense does not make moral reasonin and conviction obsolete' "t the same time, its im$lications (or our moral universe are $ro(ound' "t the very least, the science tells us that even when our adversaries% a enda is most ba((lin , they may not be amoral $sycho$aths but in the throes o( a moral mind4set that a$$ears to them to be every bit as mandatory and universal as ours does to us' <( course, some adversaries really are $sycho$aths, and others are so $oisoned by a $unitive morali+ation that they are beyond the $ale o( reason' 9The actor 1ill Smith had many historians on his side when he recently s$eculated to the $ress that /itler thou ht he was actin morally': But in any con(lict in which a meetin o( the minds is not com$letely ho$eless, a reco nition that the other uy is actin (rom moral rather than venal reasons can be a (irst $atch o( common round' <ne side can acknowled e the other%s concern (or community or stability or (airness or di nity, even while ar uin that some other value should trum$ it in that instance' 1ith a((irmative action, (or e3am$le, the o$$onents can be seen as ar uin (rom a sense o( (airness, not racism, and the de(enders can be seen as actin (rom a concern with community, not bureaucratic $ower' Biberals can rati(y conservatives% concern with (amilies while notin that ay marria e is $er(ectly consistent with that concern'

The science o( the moral sense also alerts us to ways in which our $sycholo ical makeu$ can et in the way o( our arrivin at the most de(ensible moral conclusions' The moral sense, we are learnin , is as vulnerable to illusions as the other senses' It is a$t to con(use morality $er se with $urity, status and con(ormity' It tends to re(rame $ractical $roblems as moral crusades and thus see their solution in $unitive a ression' It im$oses taboos that make certain ideas indiscussible' "nd it has the nasty habit o( always $uttin the sel( on the side o( the an els' Thou h wise $eo$le have lon re(lected on how we can be blinded by our own sanctimony, our $ublic discourse still (ails to discount it a$$ro$riately' In the worst cases, the thou htlessness o( our brute intuitions can be celebrated as a virtue' In his in(luential essay .The 1isdom o( 2e$u nance,0 Beon ;ass, (ormer chair o( the President%s )ouncil on Bioethics, ar ued that we should disre ard reason when it comes to clonin and other biomedical technolo ies and o with our ut: .1e are re$elled by the $ros$ect o( clonin human bein s ' ' ' because we intuit and (eel, immediately and without ar ument, the violation o( thin s that we ri ht(ully hold dear' ' ' ' In this a e in which everythin is held to be $ermissible so lon as it is (reely done ' ' ' re$u nance may be the only voice le(t that s$eaks u$ to de(end the central core o( our humanity' Shallow are the souls that have (or otten how to shudder'0 There are, o( course, ood reasons to re ulate human clonin , but the shudder test is not one o( them' Peo$le have shuddered at all kinds o( morally irrelevant violations o( $urity in their culture: touchin an untouchable, drinkin (rom the same water (ountain as a Ne ro, allowin Gewish blood to mi3 with "ryan blood, toleratin sodomy between consentin men' "nd i( our ancestors% re$u nance had carried the day, we never would have had auto$sies, vaccinations, blood trans(usions, arti(icial insemination, or an trans$lants and in vitro (ertili+ation, all o( which were denounced as immoral when they were new' There are many other issues (or which we are too &uick to hit the morali+ation button and look (or villains rather than bu (i3es' 1hat should we do when a hos$ital $atient is killed by a nurse who administers the wron dru in a $atient%s intravenous line! Should we make it easier to sue the hos$ital (or dama es! <r should we redesi n the I* (ittin s so that it%s $hysically im$ossible to connect the wron bottle to the line! "nd nowhere is morali+ation more o( a ha+ard than in our reatest lobal challen e' The threat o( human4induced climate chan e has become the occasion (or a moralistic revival meetin ' In many discussions, the cause o( climate chan e is overindul ence 9too many S'@'*'%s: and de(ilement 9sullyin the atmos$here:, and the solution is tem$erance 9conservation: and e3$iation 9buyin carbon o((set cou$ons:' Yet the e3$erts a ree that these numbers don%t add u$: even i( every last "merican became conscientious about his or her carbon emissions, the e((ects on climate chan e

would be tri(lin , i( (or no other reason than that two billion Indians and )hinese are unlikely to co$y our born4a ain abstemiousness' Thou h voluntary conservation may be one wed e in an e((ective carbon4reduction $ie, the other wed es will have to be morally borin , like a carbon ta3 and new ener y technolo ies, or even taboo, like nuclear $ower and deliberate mani$ulation o( the ocean and atmos$here' <ur habit o( morali+in $roblems, mer in them with intuitions o( $urity and contamination, and restin content when we (eel the ri ht (eelin s, can et in the way o( doin the ri ht thin ' #ar (rom debunkin morality, then, the science o( the moral sense can advance it, by allowin us to see throu h the illusions that evolution and culture have saddled us with and to (ocus on oals we can share and de(end' "s "nton )hekhov wrote, .Man will become better when you show him what he is like'0 Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and the author of he !anguage "nstinct# and he Stuff of hought$ !anguage as a %indow "nto Human &ature'#