num_pages: 273
description: What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the neurobiological platform of bonding that modified by evolutionary pressures and cultural values has led to human styles of moral behavior. The result is a provocative genealogy of morals that asks us to reevaluate the priority given to religion absolute rules and pure reason in accounting for the basis of morality. Moral values Churchland argues are rooted in family values displayed by all mammals--the caring for offspring. The evolved structure processes and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves--first offspring then mates kin and so on in wider and wider caring circles. Separation and exclusion cause pain and the company of loved ones causes pleasure; responding to feelings of social pain and pleasure brains adjust their circuitry to local customs. In this way caring is apportioned conscience molded and moral intuitions instilled. A key part of the story is oxytocin an ancient body-and-brain molecule that by decreasing the stress response allows humans to develop the trust in one another necessary for the development of close-knit ties social institutions and morality. A major new account of what really makes us moral Braintrust challenges us to reconsider the origins of some of our most cherished values.
language: English
title: Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality
publisher: Princeton University Press