Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition

Churchland (philosophy, Univ. of California, San Diego; Neurophilosophy) is renowned for applying research about the brain in particular, and the biological sciences more generally, to philosophical problems. Here the author investigates morality from this perspective. Moral rules do not arise, she argues, from God’s commands or from the requirements of pure reason. To the contrary, they are ways the members of a community can adapt to one another to permit peaceful living. People balance various moral constraints on a case-by-case basis, guided by feelings of sympathy for those within the group. Churchland explores in detail how these emotions arise in the brain. Understanding the nature of moral rules, she holds, is of more than theoretical interest. Those who adhere to the theories she rejects all too often view the dictates of their conscience as unquestionable truth, and this is a potent source of fanaticism and intolerance. Her discussion of the “scrupulous conscience” is valuable, and her criticisms of Kantian morality merit careful consideration. Agree with her or not, readers will benefit from the wealth of information she offers about the brain.