I think that’s a great quote and the man had numerous scientific accomplishments, but as a supporter of Israel he also said (of Britain’s Israeli boycott):
“Given the history of the attacks on Israel and the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanation other than antisemitism.”
I think the quote is overrated, honestly. There are a lot of times that a “good” person may do “evil” without religion.
Probably the most famous example comes from the Milgram experiment. All that’s required is an authority figure to tell people to do evil and they’ll do it.
And if you study behavioral economics, you’ll find out that a lot of people tend to cheat and steal just a little bit.
Another time is when there is a conflict of interests. I forget the exact quote, but it is said that it will be impossible to get a person to understand something when their pay requires them not to understand it.
You never know until you test it, but my hypothesis would be that the religious people, having spent their entire lives abdicating their moral decision-making to ministers and stone age religious texts, would have different results from people who have had experience thinking about their actions and creating moral convictions on their own.
I think that’s a great quote and the man had numerous scientific accomplishments, but as a supporter of Israel he also said (of Britain’s Israeli boycott):
“Given the history of the attacks on Israel and the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of other countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, boycotting Israel indicated a moral blindness for which it is hard to find any explanation other than antisemitism.”
I think the quote is overrated, honestly. There are a lot of times that a “good” person may do “evil” without religion.
Probably the most famous example comes from the Milgram experiment. All that’s required is an authority figure to tell people to do evil and they’ll do it.
And if you study behavioral economics, you’ll find out that a lot of people tend to cheat and steal just a little bit.
Another time is when there is a conflict of interests. I forget the exact quote, but it is said that it will be impossible to get a person to understand something when their pay requires them not to understand it.
I’d love to see a repeat of the Millgram experiment, but with religious people in one group and non-religious people in the other.
I wonder which more readily abdicate their moral decision-making
You never know until you test it, but my hypothesis would be that the religious people, having spent their entire lives abdicating their moral decision-making to ministers and stone age religious texts, would have different results from people who have had experience thinking about their actions and creating moral convictions on their own.