originally posted in:Secular Sevens
[quote]Want to be a better person? Spend more time thinking about science.
That’s the implication of newly published research, which finds people who study science — or who are even momentarily exposed to the idea of scientific research — are more likely to condemn unethical behavior and more inclined to help others.
“Thinking about science leads individuals to endorse more stringent moral norms,” report psychologists Christine Ma-Kellams of Harvard University and Jim Blascovich of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their research is published in the online journal PLOS One.[/quote]
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I believe it's the opposite.
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I would think it would make you more aware and have a better understanding of the consequences of some actions (which may in turn cause you to think more about the consequences of other actions), but whether you take it a step further and [i]care[/i] about those consequences is probably another thing entirely.
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Science = Mean Atheists critisizing religious people. [i]THE TRUTH[/i]
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Definitely no
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Seeing as it can inspire and produce rational thought, yes.
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Part of being a researcher actually forces you to be like this, because if and when you need to carry out experiments (especially in medical disciplines because they'll often deal with high-risk studies on humans or other animals) they'll often need to pass a check by an ethics board/committee.
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[quote]That’s the implication of newly published research, which finds people who study science — or who are even momentarily exposed to the idea of scientific research — are more likely to condemn unethical behavior and more inclined to help others.[/quote]I find that very hard to believe, especially the "momentarily exposed" bit. Or maybe I'm just cynical from all of the truly horrorific things that have been done in the name of science.
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Edited by Entraps: 3/31/2013 7:08:08 AMDoes scientific knowledge give people a higher standard of ethics? No, I doubt it. I don't see how there could be any correlation.
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Edited by Kickimanjaro: 3/31/2013 8:11:54 AM[i]Science saying that Science makes people better people?...seems like a conflict of interest. [/i]
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Perhaps developing rational thinking skills and applying them to the jumbled sorties of any ethical debate (thank you media) is behind this.
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Really? I am surprised by this. I'm really not sure how the two could be correlated. I would like to see the numbers behind it.
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But....the mad scientists! :O
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Of course the [i]scientists[/i] would tell us so. >.> <.<
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[quote]Of course the [i]scientists[/i] would tell us so. >.> <.<[/quote]
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[quote]After revealing some personal information, including their major, each participant finished the experiment by responding to the question, “How much do you believe in science?” on a one-to-seven scale.[/quote] Well I for one refuse to acknowledge the existence of the scientific method.
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It does tend to place things in perspective.