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Do people have free will? No.
Is almost everything in the cosmos determined? Yes.
Have humans evolved a core morality? Yes.
Put these facts together, and you arrive at a persuasive scientific argument for favoring progressive politics. Read all about it in a post I wrote for my other blog, "Science supports a progressive political agenda."
One more fact:
Will lots of people disagree with this conclusion? Yes.
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No, i disagree with extending science to support one's own subjective moral viewpoints.
Science is very iffy on the subject of consciousness and the question of free will is still very much undecided from a scientific viewpoint.
It ties in with the concept of determinism, which was a classical theory of science, that gave way to the modern quantum theory that involved quantum indeterminacy as well as uncertainty. So likewise determinism is an undecided issue from a scientific viewpoint.
Morality is a cultural phenonema directed by human minds, whereas biological evolution is driven by nature and has nothing to do with human minds or design. Moreover, morality and cultural norms very over time and space, and it is not really clear what 'good' or 'bad' might be from a nature's viewpoint or indeed one from that of the human individual or collective.
However, it seems to me that history has shown that the most tolerant liberal societies are generally also the most progressive. And it also seems to correlate that those societies which encourage the open flow of communication are also those with the broadest horizons (i.e. most informed) are also likely to be the most progressive and tolerant.
Posted by: George | December 11, 2011 at 09:01 AM
George, virtually all of science points to determinism being true. Otherwise, science wouldn't work. Even the uncertainties of quantum mechanics can be "predicted" in a sense, since the probabilities are exact, even if what actually happens is uncertain.
As to morality, why should our feelings about what is right and wrong not be the result of evolution/natural selection? Alex Rosenberg makes a strong case for this. He finds a core morality in all human cultures. Indeed, babies seem to have innate moral sensibilities.
Rats also, who exhibit empathic behavior. Do we have less of a moral sense than rats? See:
http://healthland.time.com/2011/12/08/rats-show-empathy-and-free-their-trapped-companions/
Posted by: Brian Hines | December 11, 2011 at 10:45 AM