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“Testing the theory that we have an innate moral sense as proposed by such Enlightenment thinkers as Adam Smith and Thomas Jefferson, Bloom provides experimental evidence that “our natural endowments” include “a moral sense—some capacity to distinguish between kind and cruel actions; empathy and compassion—suffering at the pain of those around us and the wish to make this pain go away; a rudimentary sense of fairness—a tendency to favor equal divisions of resources; a rudimentary sense of justice—a desire to see good actions rewarded and bad actions punished.”
― The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
― The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
“Thinking scientifically requires the ability to reason abstractly, which itself is at the foundation of all morality. Consider the mental rotation required to implement the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This necessitates one to change positions—to become the other—and then to extrapolate what action X would feel like as the receiver instead of the doer (or as the victim instead of the perpetrator). A case can be made that the type of conceptual ratiocination required for both scientific and moral reasoning not only is linked historically and psychologically, but also that it has been improving over time as we become better at nonconcrete, theoretical reflection.”
― The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
― The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
“I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.”
― The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
― The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
“Here is the major life question: Does our experience create our identity ... or does our identity create our experience?”
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“What science offers for explaining the feelings we experience when believing in God or falling in love is complementary, not conflicting; additive, not detractive. I find it deeply interesting to know that when I fall in love with someone my initial lustful feelings are enhanced by dopamine, a neurohormone produced by the hypothalamus that triggers the release of testosterone, the hormone that drives sexual desire, and that my deeper feelings of attachment are reinforced by oxytocin, a hormone synthesized in the hypothalamus and secreted into the blood by the pituitary. Further, it is instructive to know that such hormone-induced neural pathways are exclusive to monogamous pair-bonded species as an evolutionary adaptation for the long-term care of helpless infants. We fall in love because our children need us! Does this in any way lessen the qualitative experience of falling in love and doting on one’s children? Of course not, any more than unweaving a rainbow into its constituent parts reduces the aesthetic appreciation of the rainbow.”
― The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
― The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths
Science Fiction Aficionados
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— last activity Dec 02, 2025 10:12AM
Welcome to Sci Fi Aficionados. We love all things science fiction, with an emphasis on the classics of the genre. Members are welcome to discuss all t ...more
Atheists and Skeptics
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— last activity Aug 16, 2025 12:20PM
This is a group meant for the discussion of atheism and skepticism and the books associated with both. Recommending books arguing for or against relig ...more
Mars
— 18 members
— last activity Mar 10, 2009 07:33PM
for those who have a special place in their heart for the red planet.
YA LGBT Books
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For anyone who enjoys LGBTQ books written for young adults. We're a friendly, supportive group that provides a non-judgmental place to discuss the boo ...more
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