Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The New Science of Morality

Edge is a website inspired by C.P. Snow’s idea of two distinct intellectual cultures: one consisting of scientific innovators and the other consisting of literary thinkers. He suggested stronger communication between the two groups, hoping that a new breed of pragmatic, holistic thought would be the result. Edge allows a uniquely constructive collaboration between university professors, esteemed authors, and notable scientists.

This June, a conference regarding issues of morality included Sam Harris, Joshua Greene, and Paul Bloom among other invaluable contributors. It was called The New Science of Morality. On a side note, Sam Harris recently discussed his book The Moral Landscape on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (October 4, 2010).

The group composed a consensus. It approaches the topic from neurological, sociological, epistemological, psychological, and genetic perspectives. There is an equally wide range of implications that can be drawn from the consensus. Endless food for thought...

Consensus Statement:
edge.org/3rd_culture/morality10/morality_consensus.html

Event page, including individual transcripts and audio downloads:
edge.org/3rd_culture/morality10/morality10_index.html