Posts Tagged ‘ Frans de Waal ’

The Science of Morality (CBC radio interviews)

October 30, 2012
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One of the jewels in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is the radio series Ideas, which does a good job of providing Canadians with in-depth journalism on issues of scientific or cultural significance. Here are links to a two-part series on the new science of morality (Part 1; Part 2).  The series provides a nice introduction to the field and investigates what light science is shedding on our moral beliefs and behavior. The series features interviews with Frans de Waal, Paul Bloom, Jon Haidt, Joshua Greene, and Sam Harris.

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Moral behavior in animals (TED lecture by Frans de Waal)

April 21, 2012
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Empathy, cooperation, fairness, and reciprocity are characteristics not only of (some) humans, but also of non-human animals. In this lecture Frans de Waal shares some surprising videos of behavioral tests on primates and other mammals that demonstrate that altruism is not a uniquely human phenomenon. This point is both intrinsically interesting and significant for its implications regarding debates on the nature of morality and the connection between morality and religion. While many theists see their religion or deity as the source of morality, these animal studies suggest otherwise, that morality, like all other forms of human and animal behavior, has evolved…

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