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The End of Evil? Neuroscientists suggest there is no such thing. Are they right?
Slate ^ | Friday, Sept. 30, 2011, | Ron Rosenbaum

Posted on 10/07/2011 8:13:12 PM PDT by Jacob Kell

Is evil over? Has science finally driven a stake through its dark heart? Or at least emptied the word of useful meaning, reduced the notion of a numinous nonmaterial malevolent force to a glitch in a tangled cluster of neurons, the brain?

Yes, according to many neuroscientists, who are emerging as the new high priests of the secrets of the psyche, explainers of human behavior in general. A phenomenon attested to by a recent torrent of pop-sci brain books with titles like Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. Not secret in most of these works is the disdain for metaphysical evil, which is regarded as an antiquated concept that's done more harm than good. They argue that the time has come to replace such metaphysical terms with physical explanations—malfunctions or malformations in the brain.

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: evil; faithandphilosophy; neuroscience; neuroscientists; science
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1 posted on 10/07/2011 8:13:23 PM PDT by Jacob Kell
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To: Jacob Kell

no. and it’s the oldest lie in the book.


2 posted on 10/07/2011 8:14:49 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (...then they came for the guitars, and we kicked their sorry faggot asses into the dust)
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To: Jacob Kell
They argue that the time has come to replace such metaphysical terms with physical explanations

In reality, evil is is still evil and is still present....regardless what it is called.

3 posted on 10/07/2011 8:17:32 PM PDT by umgud
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To: Jacob Kell
You have to realize, "neuroscience" is not what you think it is. It sounds profound, but is little more than drugstore paperback schlock like we have had for fifty years. Old stale horsepiss dressed up in new cans, like Bud Lite.
4 posted on 10/07/2011 8:19:33 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard
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To: Jacob Kell

“there is no such thing as “free will” with which to decide to commit evil. (Like evil, free will is an antiquated concept for most.) Autonomous, conscious decision-making itself may well be an illusion. And thus intentional evil is impossible.”

This claim surfaces from time to time in various forms. It’s always self defeating. If there’s no free will, then the scientists making that claim were destined to make that claim, and there can be no truth value in their claim.


5 posted on 10/07/2011 8:20:05 PM PDT by mkmensinger
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To: umgud

satan prefers to deceive some with this ruse...

Until he is chained ( the day is soon) he will spout this nonsense to the naive.

He’ll be loosed a little while after that ( a second purging), then we’re done with lucifer.


6 posted on 10/07/2011 8:24:52 PM PDT by One Name
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To: Jacob Kell

So WWII did not happen? Or do they just mean it was not a bad thing?


7 posted on 10/07/2011 8:25:56 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: Jacob Kell

Just ask Hitler, he thought he was doing the German race a favor, no evil in that...


8 posted on 10/07/2011 8:26:07 PM PDT by dps.inspect (the system is rigged...)
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To: mkmensinger

Pure moral nihilism. They believe there is no evil, no free will, and even consciousness is an illusion. And of course they eventually want to “take people off the streets” based on MRI’s. Typical left wing efforts to excuse all wrongdoing and take away personal freedom.


9 posted on 10/07/2011 8:26:13 PM PDT by Williams (Honey Badger Don't Care)
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To: Jacob Kell

Haven’t they been saying this since the Enlightenment?


10 posted on 10/07/2011 8:27:10 PM PDT by Shadow44
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To: Jacob Kell

Evil has been with us since the beginning of time and is never going away.


11 posted on 10/07/2011 8:29:25 PM PDT by SECURE AMERICA (Where can I sign up for the New American Revolution and the Crusades 2012?)
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To: Jacob Kell

Gore’s got a bunch of ‘scientists’ too who believe in global warming... Liberal Universities are full of liberals ...


12 posted on 10/07/2011 8:29:46 PM PDT by GOPJ (Where is the headline that says: Obama Murders Hundreds of Mexicans! - freeper xzins)
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To: Jacob Kell

Is it evil to want to control other people by telling them you know what is best for them? I know the answer to that question and I suspect these scientists do too.


13 posted on 10/07/2011 8:30:06 PM PDT by vbmoneyspender
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To: Jacob Kell

Changing the definition of sanity does not cure insanity. Making everything a mental illness does not eliminate right from wrong, good from evil.


14 posted on 10/07/2011 8:42:58 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: Jacob Kell

Yes, there will be an end to evil....these clowns will be surprised at how it turns out.


15 posted on 10/07/2011 8:47:06 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Go Steelers (what's the baseball team called again?))
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To: vbmoneyspender

If they say no, then they can’t complain about religions either.


16 posted on 10/07/2011 8:47:48 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (There's gonna be a Redneck Revolution! (See my freep page) [rednecks come in many colors])
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To: Jacob Kell

I have no doubt evil exists. I’ve dealt with evil people and with mentally ill people. Sometimes those conditions arrive together and sometimes they don’t.


17 posted on 10/07/2011 8:50:44 PM PDT by KJC1
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To: Jacob Kell

No.


18 posted on 10/07/2011 8:53:09 PM PDT by null and void (Day 989 of America's holiday from reality...)
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To: Jacob Kell

This is another attempt by scientists to claim they are the solution to all our woes, and that they are the GOD we should worship.

The ‘mind’ is much more than just the brain. It is a part they cannot dissect, nor control. Yet, they ‘believe’ they can.


19 posted on 10/07/2011 8:55:07 PM PDT by UCANSEE2 (Lame and ill-informed post)
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To: Shadow44

“Haven’t they been saying this since the Enlightenment?”

Since Eden.


20 posted on 10/07/2011 9:07:10 PM PDT by Psalm 144 (Voodoo Republicans: Don't read their lips - watch their hands.)
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