9.46 Neuroscience of Morality
Fall 2016
Instructors: Rebecca R Saxe, Jessie M Stickgold-Sarah
TA: Sean Dae Houlihan
Lecture:
MW10.30-12
(46-1015)
Final Exam: Tuesday, December 20 from 1:30 to 4:30 PM
(46-1015)
Information:
How do we decide whether an action is morally wrong? Are there
different kinds
of moral wrongness? Once we know something is wrong, how do we
decide whether or not to do it anyway? The classic puzzles of human
morality have recently become accessible as topics in human
psychology and neuroscience. This course will consider the origins
of morality as a question for neuroscientists.
Announcements
Are scruples on a slipper slope?
I thought you might enjoy seeing this recent behavioral article examining if making minor moral transgressions predispose people towards making larger subsequent transgressions."It is widely believed that losing one’s moral compass is a
gradual process. Breaking a small ethical rule gives us license to
break a larger one, and then a still larger one, until unethical
behavior gradually feels normal.
But newly published research asserts this 'intuitively
compelling notion' is inaccurate. In four experiments,
participants were more likely to engage in large-scale unethical
behavior if the opportunity came out of the blue, rather than after
they had previously given in to minor temptations."
(From the
PS Mag press release.)
Link to the original article: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956797616682026
Announced on 18 January 2017 11:39 a.m. by Sean Dae Houlihan
Email list for 9.46
Vivian has kindly made a mailing list for you all to keep in touch after the course. If you'd like to be added, just shoot her an email at vivianhu@mit.edu. (The moira group is 9.46-2016@mit.edu).Congrats to everyone for wrapping up their semester. I had an absolutely amazing time talking about the material with you.
- Dae
Announced on 22 December 2016 4:57 p.m. by Sean Dae Houlihan
Office hours during exam week
Hi AllI won't have my regular office hours next week, but Monday morning (when I would normally prep / teach class) I'll be in my office if you want to come by.
Thanks
Announced on 12 December 2016 4:14 p.m. by Rebecca R Saxe
New topic and readings on Wednesday
Hi everyone, welcome back from thanksgiving, and looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. A few quick housekeeping notes:-- Paper 2 grades and comments are uploaded to stellar
-- A second practice exam is uploaded to stellar
-- I have changed the topic and the readings for Wednesday (Day 23) -- please check that you have downloaded the most recent readings (Miller, and Nook)
Thanks and see you tomorrow,
RS
Announced on 27 November 2016 8:35 p.m. by Rebecca R Saxe
Another SMBC
be sure to click the red button on the bottom right as wellhttp://smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=2624
Announced on 02 November 2016 12:05 p.m. by Sean Dae Houlihan
