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The Science of Morality

Take a few moments today to watch Sam Harris at TED speaking on the topic of science answering moral questions; two spheres of thinking that seem to be divergent paths. Basically, he makes a myriad of points regarding morality not being a religious decision but, rather, a clear fact based path to the betterment of mankind. Of course there had to be some controversy regarding his talk because science prefers to be as hands-off in the judgement department as possible (understandably so) and to have someone speak to the opposite is a topic worthy of conversation.

Among other things I was really struck by this particular passage from the talk:

Whenever we are talking about facts certain opinions must be excluded. That is what it is to have a domain of expertise. That is what it is for knowledge to count. How have we convinced ourselves that in the moral sphere there is no such thing as moral expertise, or moral talent, or moral genius even? How have we convinced ourselves that every opinion has to count? How have we convinced ourselves that every culture has a point of view on these subjects worth considering?

It's 20 minutes long so you may not have time to watch it right now but, please, partake in it sometime today.

Via Aaron.