free markets produce the types of social systems that best enable people to interact in a way that puts them on the oxytocin-empathy? Really???? I thought it was each one on its own.
On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 6:47 AM, meekerdb <meeke...@verizon.net> wrote: > > This may be of interest to those recently discussing free-riders. > > Brent > > -------- Original Message -------- > > Unto Others > > BY MICHAEL SHERMER > > It is the oldest and most universally recognized moral principle that was > codified over two millennia ago by the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder: > “Whatsoever thou wouldst that men should not do to thee, do not do that to > them. This is the whole Law. The rest is only explanation.” That explanation > has been the subject of intense theological and philosophical disputation > for millennia, and recently scientists are weighing in with naturalistic > accounts of morality, such as the two books under review here. > > Paul J. Zak is an economist and pioneer in the new science of > neuroeconomics who built his reputation on research that identified the > hormone oxytocin as a biological proxy for trust. As Zak documents, > countries whose citizens trust one another have higher average GDPs, and > trust is built through mutually-beneficial exchanges that result in higher > levels of oxytocin as measured in blood draws of subjects in economic > exchange games as well as real-world in situ encounters. The Moral Molecule > is an engaging and enlightening popular account of Zak’s decade of intense > research into how this molecule evolved for one purpose—pair bonding and > attachment in social mammals—and was co-opted for trust between strangers. > The problem to be solved here is why strangers would be nice to one > another. Evolutionary “selfish gene” theory well accounts for why we would > be nice to our kin and kind—they share our genes so being altruistic and > moral has an evolutionary payoff in our genes being indirectly propagated > into future generations. The theory of kin selection explains how this > works, and the theory of reciprocal altruism—I’ll scratch your back if > you’ll scratch mine—goes a long way toward explaining why unrelated people > in a social group would be kind to one another: my generosity to you today > when my fortunes are sound will pay off down the road when life is good to > you and my luck has run out. What Zak has so brilliantly done is to identify > the precise biological pathways that explain the mechanics of how this > system evolved and operates today. > Order the hardcover from Amazon > Order the Kindle Edition > The Moral Molecule is loaded with first-person accounts of how Zak got his > data, starting with a wedding he attended in the English countryside to draw > the blood and measure the oxytocin levels of the bride, groom, and > accompanying parents before and after the vows. The half-life of oxytocin is > measured in minutes, so Zak had to draw 24 blood samples in under ten > minutes that then had to be frozen and shipped back to his lab for analysis, > the results of which “could be mapped out like the solar system, with the > bride as the sun,” he vividly recalls. The bride’s oxytocin level shot up by > 28 percent after vows were spoken, “and for each of the other people tested, > the increase in oxytocin was in direct proportion to the likely intensity of > emotional engagement in the event.” Bride’s mother: up 24 percent. Groom’s > father: up 19 percent. The groom: up only 13 percent. Why? It turns out that > testosterone interferes with the release of oxytocin, and Zak measured a 100 > percent increase in the groom’s testosterone level after his vows were > pronounced! How far will Zak go to get his data? In the western highlands of > Papua New Guinea he set up a make-shift lab to draw the blood from tribal > warriors before and after they performed a ritual dance, discovering that > the “band of brothers” phenomena has a molecular basis in oxytocin. > The Moral Molecule aims to explain “the source of love and prosperity,” > which Zak identifies in a causal chain from oxytocin to empathy to morality > to trust to prosperity. Numerous experiments he has conducted in this lab > that are detailed in the book demonstrate that subjects who are cooperative > and generous in a trust game have higher levels of oxytocin, and infusing > subjects with oxytocin through a nose spray causes their generosity and > cooperativeness to increase. Zak concludes his book with a thoughtful > discussion of how liberal democracies and free markets produce the types of > social systems that best enable people to interact in a way that puts them > on the oxytocin-empathy-morality-trust-prosperity positive feedback loop. > Every corporate CEO and congressman should read this book before making > important decisions. > In Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame the USC > evolutionary anthropologist Christopher Boehm tackles head-on the > “free-rider” problem in explaining the origins of morality. Kin selection > and reciprocal altruism only go so far in explaining why we would have > evolved the propensity to be nice to our fellow group members, because big > bullies and Machiavellian manipulators could easily take advantage of > naively engendered trust. Before long, free-riders operating on the goodwill > of other groups members would gain an evolutionary reproductive advantage > and swamp the gene pool with psychopaths lacking any pretense of real > morality and thereby reduce humanity to an inhumane Lord of the Flies. But > that did not happen and Boehm explains why: we evolved the social technology > of shaming and shunning free riders who violated social norms, along with > the desire to punish those who attempted to unfairly gain an upper hand > against naïve group members or those who could be exploited by powerful > alpha-male bullies. This explains why we not only practice but often even > enjoy “moralistic punishment” against those who cheated or bullied us. It’s > a powerful emotion based in evolutionary logic that I felt the full visceral > effect of during the revenge scene from the film The Girl with the Dragon > Tattoo that followed the pornographically brutal rape scene of the central > character Lisbeth Salander. There’s a deep emotional satisfaction that comes > from seeing a bully get his comeuppance. It’s an evolved moral emotion > necessary to deal with the realities of a social life that includes bullies > and cheaters. > Order the hardcover from Amazon > Order the Kindle Edition > Boehm’s data comes from his direct observations of primate groups and > indigenous populations over many decades, which he extrapolates back into > our Paleolithic past of hunter-gatherers on the plains of Africa. Hunting > wild game is a dangerous enterprise for a puny bipedal primate, so > collaborative hunting through social bonding evolved. The free-rider problem > of individuals shirking their responsibilities, laying back during risky > moments, or taking more than their fair share of the hunt, were vigorously > punished through shame and shunning, and even expulsion and capital > punishment. Knowing that there are consequences to cheating the system, > humans evolved a moral emotion of guilt and shame that enabled our ancestors > to learn to control their impulses to do the wrong thing and to be > reinforced for and feel good about doing the right thing. > Boehm estimates that this system evolved over the last 50,000 years as > human groups became vigilantly egalitarian, and yet our psychology contains > much older selfish moral emotions that are often in conflict with these > newer sentiments. This goes a long way toward explaining why we often feel > selfish and strongly desire to first take care of ourselves and our kin, > while also feeling tribal and bonded with our fellow group members, > especially when we are collectively threatened by other tribes. As Boehm > notes in a moving epilogue reflection on humanity’s moral future, “people in > a band are basically economic equals, whereas our world of nations is very > far from being egalitarian in this way. This economic inequality can be seen > as a special engine that helps to drive international conflict, and it > stands in the way of creating a more effective international order.” We > can’t go back, but we can go forward armed with the knowledge that > deep-thinking scientists such as Christopher Boehm provide in such important > contributions to humanity’s prospects as Moral Origins. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > "We have geared the machines and locked all together into interdependence; > we have built the great cities; now there is no escape. We have gathered > vast populations incapable of free survival, insulated From the strong > earth, each person in himself helpless, on all dependent. The circle is > closed, and the net Is being hauled in." > > ~ From The Purse Seine, Robinson Jeffers, 1937 > > > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
