| | Good and Evil are valid concepts in light of man's volition. Since man's means of survival is reason he can choose to act in ways that are supportive or destructive to his life. Without choice there is no good and evil. Ther are no good or evil actions among plants.
I agree with this: good and evil are concepts used by man with his higher levels of consciousness in order to differentiate and choose between living or dying. These concepts are created by man's mind. If one also looks at the list of religions attributed to man over history, one's perspective changes so that God is just one amongst... thousands. The only constant factor is humanity, the differing factors are the deities.
Joel said:
Finally, I don't think the existence of human volition can be demonstrated.
I reply with this: "A number of brain regions contribute to the performance of consciously chosen, or ‘willed', actions. Of particular importance is dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), together with those brain regions with which it is connected, via cortico-subcortical and cortico-cortical circuits. That aspect of free will which is concerned with the voluntary selection of one action rather than another critically depends upon the normal functioning of DLPFC and associated brain regions. Disease, or dysfunction, of these circuits may be associated with a variety of disorders of volition: Parkinson's disease, ‘utilization’ behaviour, ‘alien’ and ‘phantom’ limbs, and delusions of ‘alien control’ (the passivity phenomena of schizophrenia). Brain imaging has allowed us to gain some access to the pathophysiology of these conditions in living patients. At a philosophical level, the distinction between ‘intentions to act', and ‘intentions in action’ may prove particularly helpful when addressing these complex disturbances of human cognition and conscious experience. The exercise and experience of free will depends upon neural mechanisms located in prefrontal cortex and associated brain systems."
"Towards a functional anatomy of volition"; Authors: Spence S.A.; Frith C.D. ; Source: Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 6, Numbers 8-9, 1999, pp. 11-29(19)
and this:
"Conscious sensory perception and its modulation by volition are integral to human mental life. Functional neuroimaging techniques provide a direct means of identifying and characterizing in vivo the systems-level patterns of brain activity associated with such mental functions." Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences; Volume 353, Number 1377 / November 29, 1998, 1883 - 1888
and:
"Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a commonly occurring neuropsychiatric condition characterized by bothersome intrusive thoughts and urges that frequently lead to repetitive dysfunctional behaviours such as excessive handwashing. There are well-documented alterations in cerebral function which appear to be closely related to the manifestation of these symptoms. Controlled studies of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques utilizing the active refocusing of attention away from the intrusive phenomena of OCD and onto adaptive alternative activities have demonstrated both significant improvements in clinical symptoms and systematic changes in the pathological brain circuitry associated with them. Careful investigation of the relationships between the experiential and putative neurophysiological processes involved in these changes can offer useful insights into volitional aspects of cerebral function." --"A role for volition and attention in the generation of new brain circuitry. toward a neurobiology of mental force" by Schwartz J.M.; Source: Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 6, Numbers 8-9, 1999, pp. 115-42(-72)
The existence of volition *is* demonstrated.
Here I state that good and evil are created by the Creator, and then, and only then, human volition and thus human morality is possible.
Where's the evidence for this statement?
Here's mine: "Emotion plays a pivotal role in moral experience by assigning human values to events, objects, and actions. Although the brain correlates of basic emotions have been explored, the neural organization of "moral emotions" in the human brain remains poorly understood. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a passive visual task, we show that both basic and moral emotions activate the amygdala, thalamus, and upper midbrain. The orbital and medial prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal sulcus are also recruited by viewing scenes evocative of moral emotions. Our results indicate that the orbital and medial sectors of the prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal sulcus region, which are critical regions for social behavior and perception, play a central role in moral appraisals. We suggest that the automatic tagging of ordinary social events with moral values may be an important mechanism for implicit social behaviors in humans." -- "The Neural Correlates of Moral Sensitivity: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation of Basic and Moral Emotions" by Jorge Moll, Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza, Paul J. Eslinger, Ivanei E. Bramati, Janaína Mourăo-Miranda, Pedro Angelo Andreiuolo, and Luiz Pessoa; The Journal of Neuroscience, April 1, 2002, 22(7):2730-2736
and
"The moral sentiments adumbrated by Adam Smith and Charles Darwin reflect some of our basic social appraisals of each other. One set of moral appraisals reflects disgust and withdrawal, a form of contempt. Another set of moral appraisals reflects active concern responses, an appreciation of the experiences (sympathy for some- one) of other individuals and approach related behaviors. While no one set of neural structures is designed for only moral appraisals, a diverse set of neural regions that include the gustatory/visceral neural axis, basal ganglia and diverse neocortical sites underlie moral judgment."
"Moral Sensibility,Visceral Representations,and Social Cohesion: A Behavioral Neuroscience Perspective"
Author: Schulkin, Jay1
Source: Mind and Matter, Volume 3, Number 1, 2005, pp. 31-56(26)
and
"Note, also, that belief in supernatural agents (like many other explicit beliefs) is a high-level, conscious and meta-representational state. That is, people are aware of their assumption that ancestors are around (by contrast, they also assume that objects fall downwards but are not necessar ily aware of that assumption). In other words, explicit beliefs of this kind are interpretations of one’s own mental states.
It is a plausible hypothesis in cognitive neuroscience that some mental systems, possibly supported by specific networks, are specialised in producing such explicit, relevant interpretations or post-hoc explanations for the operation and output of other mental systems.
Perhaps the impression that elusive agents really are around is an interpretation of this kind, as a result of the joint activity of many automatic mental systems. In this view, spirits and ancestors would be seen by some as plausibly real be cause thoughts about them activate "theory of mind' systems and agency-detection and contagion-avoidance and social exchange, etc.. This, incidentally, would confirm that it is futile to look for the single factor that causes religious belief: the very fact that several systems are active is what causes "belief".
Whether or not this interpretation holds will depend on progress in the cognitive neuroscience of religion. Religious believers and sceptics generally agree on one thing only: that religion is a dramatic phenomenon that requires a dramatic explanation, either as a spectacular revelation of truth or as a fundamental error of reasoning. The picture of religion offered by cognitive science and neuroscience is less dramatic though perhaps more empirically grounded: religion seems to be a *probable*, though by no means inevitable by-product of the normal operation of mental systems typical of human cognition." -- "Cognitive science & neuroscience of religious thought and behaviour" by Pascal Boyer, Trends in Cognitive Neurosciences, 2002
[Religion is "probable", i.e. not "needed" but a can be a by-product of human cognition.]
and
"Morality has been at the center of informal talks and metaphysical discussions since the beginning of history. Recently, converging lines of evidence from evolutionary biology, neuroscience and experimental psychology have shown that morality is grounded in the brain. This article reviews the main lines of investigation indicating that moral behavior is a product of evolutionary pressures that shaped the neurobehavioral processes related to the selective perception of social cues, the experience of moral emotions and the adaption of behavioral responses to the social milieu. These processes draw upon specific cortical-subcortical loops that organize social cognition, emotion and motivation into uniquely human forms of experience and behavior. We put forth a model of brain-behavior relationships underlying moral reasoning and emotion that accommodates the impairments of moral behavior observed in neuropsychiatric disorders. This model provides a framework for empirical testing with current methods of neurobehavioral analysis." --"Morals and the human brain: a working model." Neuroreport. 14(3):299-305, March 3, 2003.
Moll, Jorge; de Oliveira-Souza, Ricardo; Eslinger, Paul J.
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