Steven Pinker The Moral Instinct Analysis

On January 13th, 2008, experimental psychologist and human nature author Steven Pinker wrote an article for the New York Times entitled, “The Moral Instinct.” This article insinuates that all humans have morals as a sixth sense, lodged into their brain. Pinker also suggests that moralization is, in a sense, universal around the world. The article is broken down into several sections in which Pinker effectively explains each subtopic and provides sufficient examples explaining his reasoning. Throughout the article the reader is met with tests that stimulates the brain and calls for better understanding. Pinker gives readers several scenarios in which they have to make a decision that could either save or hurt people; that is not the full case though. In one scenario, test subjects were asked if they would risk the life of one person, in order to save the lives of five others. This is where things get tricky; does it make it any better that you saved numerous lives, while …show more content…
I think it all comes down to how we were raised and the kind of environment we live in. No two humans are the same, while there are individuals with several similarities, whether it be beliefs or interests, I do not see moral as something that is universal; I believe that this is more so individual values and beliefs. I agree with Pinker when he suggests that somewhere down the line, morals and the difference between right and wrong is coded in our DNA; we aren’t always taught right and wrong, but somehow we still know. I also agree that there is an on/off switch when it comes to morals. We are often put in situation where we chose to either do what is ethically the right thing to do, or what we feel is right, this backs up what Pinker meant we he suggested that we often try to rationalize decisions after they were already made (first comes the conclusion, followed by emotion, leading up to an attempt at