Hi
James M. Clark
Professor of Psychology
204-786-9757
204-774-4134 Fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>> "Louis Schmier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 06-Apr-07 5:57:38 AM >>>
I am assuming that some of the vocal contributors to this discussion
are atheists
or agnostics. So, I'd like to ask two simple questions. First, what is the
basis of your
moral code and ethical behavior? Second, what is your creed, that is, your
moral code?
This is largely irrelevant to what in my mind was the debate relevant to this
list. I would cast the issue being discussed (at least by me) as:
When we teach students to think critically, to use science and reason to arrive
at conclusions about the world, do we (or should we) be teaching them that
there are certain domains (e.g., religion, morals, tradition, ...) to which
these principles ought not to be applied? The answer would appear to be "yes"
by people who adhere to something like Gould's separate magisteria or by people
who say that science is irrelevant to questions about the existence of god and
the like. The answer is "no" by definition to those of us who maintain that
science and reason should be core to all our beliefs (and ideally our
behaviors), to the extent that is possible. One could see Louis's question as
a rhetorical ploy to divert discussion from this question to a completely
different question, a strategy not unheard of in such debates.
But Louis's question does perhaps have one important implication for anyone
trying to teach people to live their lives by science and reason. To what
extent are students (and others) reluctant to adopt a rational lifestyle
because of concerns about the moral implications of such a change? That would
then lead to questions about the empirical evidence for a connection between
religion/atheism and moral development, something that psychologists and others
have addressed. Does anyone know whether Kolberg, Turiel, and others working
on moral development have addressed the question of religion? And where would
a response like "The Bible says it is wrong" or "The Koran says it is wrong"
fall on Kolberg's scale? Here are a few relevant links, the first one
explicitly addressing Louis's question, and the second taking a position that
religion actually impedes moral development.
http://home.teleport.com/~packham/morality.htm
http://caliibre.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-religion-impedes-moral-development.html
The second does cite one relevant finding of Kohlberg's, namely that no
post-conventional individuals were found in a highly religious group in Turkey.
But of course, post-conventional levels of morality are rare in the West as
well (although increases do occur to some extent with increases in levels of
education).
Take care
Jim
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