'From the Heavens or From Nature: The Origins of Morality' by Dr. Andy Thomson, AAI 2009

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'From the Heavens or From Nature: The Origins of Morality' by Dr. Andy Thomson, AAI 2009

Dr. Andy Thomson gives a talk on morality at the Atheist Alliance International 2009 Conference in Burbank, California. Dr. Thomson uses Francis Collins' claim that morality is proof of God as a jumping-off point to discuss what we know about how morality works and where it came from. The conference was co-sponosored by The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, which brought in several well-known scientists to give talks. Download Quicktime (720p HD): http://c0116791.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/Andy-fix-highend-720.mov Filmed & Edited by JOSH TIMONEN The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science http://richarddawkinsfoundation.org Atheist Alliance International http://atheistalliance.org

Author: richarddawkinsdotnet
Length: 51:50
Uploaded: 16.10.2009
Viewed: 31199×
Rating (1156×):
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Video Category: Tech
Tags: Marc Hauser, Hurricane Katrina, Moral Dilemmas, J. Anderson Thomson, James Anderson Thomson, The Language of God, Memorial Hospital, Joshua Greene
We do not " learn ...   (babybluesnowden)20.11.2009
We do not " learn and teach this right from the get-go" do we encourage our children to interact with people and create friendships, exercise and enjoy outdoor activities? Or do we encourage/all​ow them to play x-boxes, playstations,​ overeat and watch television in their safe indoor environment? We fill our kids heads full of fantasies, tooth fairies, easter bunnies and santa claus. We have the audacity to tell them not to lie, then we inform them all their childhood holiday friends dont exist.
It's also very ...   (magicbibledotcom)19.11.2009
It's also very logical to be nice to people in order to receive nice behaviour. We learn and teach this right from the get go. We see mother's telling their kids not snatch toys off other kids so that others don't do it to them. It's not nice. So we learn very quickly that this type of behaviour is a bad thing to do. It's not beneficial to us or the other person. So we go through life being nice in order to recieve nice behaviour. We don't need god to explain any of this.
There's also tons ...   (magicbibledotcom)19.11.2009
There's also tons of very basic logical reasons to be 'moral' that can be explained very easily by our nature. The fact we've evolved to our intelligence and built a society where we want to personally gain and achieve comfort makes it logical to NOT steal from people. Stea​ling from somebody, taking somebody elses posession is an open invitation to confrontation​ which we've learned is a pathway to harm to US. It's an illogical thing to do unless you have no other choice.
That comment I've ...   (magicbibledotcom)19.11.2009
That comment I've just seen is one of the most stupid I've seen. "If there is no God, there is no logical reason to be moral" Of course there is. If you consider NOT killing moral for example. Now, we know we evolved and our 'purpose' if there is one, is just to pass on our genes. So it's logical to protect our own genes and our own species since every species only lives by nature to be successful. ​So, it would be logical to not mindlessly kill each other thus killing our own species lol.
@obergsson You ...   (Jani2207)17.11.2009
@obergsson You aren't very bright.
If there is a "God" ...   (Wrath0fKhan)17.11.2009
If there is a "God", that is "the classical theistic one", then "he" obviously is a f*cktard...
'If there is no God ...   (Kregga)16.11.2009
'If there is no God .... there is no logical reason to be moral.' Guess​ we're all being illogical then.
No, I'd present the ...   (Miryr)16.11.2009
No, I'd present the idea to the waiting room guy and only if the others are worth it (it would be a waste to give it to somebody who's old or someone who's a drug addict, or anything of the sort).
Are you honestly ...   (ChrisSketch)16.11.2009
Are you honestly going to come on to the richard dawkins videos with such flimsy arguments and expect to be taken seriously?
For the switch one ...   (slytherinspy1960)14.11.2009
For the switch one id kill the person to save the five people. For the bridge one id kill the person to save the five people. And if it was a friend or relative id let the five people die in both scenarios. I love Dr. Thomsan's speeches they are very interesting.
This kills my idea ...   (unassumption)14.11.2009
This kills my idea - unless the one is a family member, friend or myself (a different drive alltogether) I tend to emotionally side with killing that person to save the others, even feeling angry at the doctor for (I'm probably rationalizing) letting people die just so his conscience isn't dirty. However, when I ask my aspie friends about this they tend to side with not doing anything, or become angry at the dr if he kills the one; so I guess it's just me :S
Unless your ...   (unassumption)14.11.2009
Unless your defining morality in terms of "doing what god says" I think our naturally evolved mechanisms of Guilt, fear, pride, shame, etc would get us to behave morally. They don't provide an objective reason to behave 'morally' but then again, does God? Euthreo dillema says no.
« If there is no ...   (XGralgrathor)14.11.2009
« If there is no God .... there is no logical reason to be moral » This is of course false. Morality is a code of conduct between people. When people interact in tight groups, ones conduct determines the response one gets from other people, determines how other people will reciprocate. Therefore, when people interact, they'll automatically​ develop a code of conduct that does not invite detrimental reciprocation. This is the basis of morality. No gods required.
If there is no God ...   (obergsson)14.11.2009
If there is no God .... there is no logical reason to be moral. You would logically live only for the advancement of your own interests, pleasures, desires etc .... The reason you don't is because we have varying degrees of a conscience ... some more ... some less .... that my friends is the connection to your soul ... if you develop that connection the true power and nature of the human becomes clear.
I've heard an even ...   (HelplessVictim)14.11.2009
I've heard an even more extreme example: Say​ you're an expert surgeon and you can pull off any organ transplant easily. You have four different patients, each with a different failing organ that will eventually kill them. Luckily, there's a man in the waiting room with a blood type that could be accepted by all of them. Presum​ing you COULD get away with it, is it okay to kill that one guy and use his organs to save the other four?
Do you think people ...   (unassumption)13.11.2009
Do you think people on the autistic spectrum has a higher chance of shoving the fat man? We tend to have less social emotions, and I've never understood why pushing him is a bad thing in any way, as quickly as for the switch... wonder what variation there is in what moral behavior people exhibit?
I read Collins' ...   (middlekk)11.11.2009
I read Collins' book at Barnes & Noble in about an hour. There's not much "there" there. Even good scientists can be lousy theologians.
bugger i miss-spelt ...   (Paramedicguy)10.11.2009
bugger i miss-spelt psychopath
And i would argue ...   (Paramedicguy)10.11.2009
And i would argue that psychpathy is more of a genetic trait than sociopathy which I feel is more connected to the psychology of the crowd, i.e. a PERSON is smart, PEOPLE are studid.
My (non existant) ...   (Paramedicguy)10.11.2009
My (non existant) god the spelling on this thread is bad! Come on people:)
New researchs stats ...   (jerryaltman)10.11.2009
New researchs stats that for 4 psychopaths 3 are mans and 1 are women. But someones believe that female psychopath are more occult, quiet, and so would be less detected. With female emancipation we star to notice more evil females than decades ago, but they always existed.
But the fact that ...   (gramamge33)10.11.2009
But the fact that that confine does not connect to the reality of the situation makes it a bad test. I don't care if you throw Andre the Giant in front of this trolley you cannot know his body will stop it with the same surety as changing the lanes on a track, so of course it involves different parts of the brain based on the inherent need to make a probability assessment in addition to the moral math of 5 lives vs 1 vs 6 if you're wrong.
you're not working ...   (sbtech01)9.11.2009
you're not working within the confines of the test. you are ASSURED it will stop the train. Thats the test.
lol...   (RCRhythm)9.11.2009
lol...
If psycopathy is ...   (CanadiaNecro1)9.11.2009
If psycopathy is heritable, the gene must be on the Y chromosome.

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