Rationally Speaking #85 - Live From NECSS With Michael Shermer On the Role of Science in Morality

Rationally Speaking Podcast

New York City Skeptics

Society & Culture, Skepticism, Science, Philosophy

4.6 • 787 Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2013

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a special live Rationally Speaking, taped at NECSS 2013, Julia Galef moderates a lively discussion between Massimo and Michael Shermer, head of the Skeptic Society and founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine. The topic: Can science tell us what is "moral"? This discussion comes after both men have tackled the question separately in books (Massimo's Answers for Aristotle and Michael's The Science of Good and Evil), and jointly in a recent debate on the Rationally Speaking blog. Questions under debate include: Does "natural" = "morally right"? How do we make tradeoffs between different people's happiness? And what role should science and philosophy play in making these decisions?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Rationally speaking is a presentation of New York City skeptics dedicated to promoting critical thinking, skeptical inquiry, and science education.
0:22.6	For more information, please visit us at NYCCEceptics.org.
0:35.6	Welcome to rationally speaking, the podcast where we explore the borderlands between reason and nonsense.
0:43.2	I am your host, Julia Galef, and with me as always is my co-host, Massimo Piliucci.
0:49.8	Hi, Julia.
0:50.6	It's a new dawn.
0:53.2	So I was about to say, so, Massimo, what are we going to talk about today?
0:56.4	But actually, I'm introducing that part too.
0:59.1	So I'm here with Massimo Pilucci and a special guest to I'll introduce in a moment
1:04.9	at the fourth annual North East Conference on Science and Skepticism.
1:10.8	And I have here a live audience.
1:12.4	Come on, guys, make them jealous at home.
1:14.6	Woo!
1:19.3	So we've just heard two talks here at Nexus, one from Massimo, and the other sort of paired talk from our special guest.
1:31.3	Today, Michael Shermer.
1:33.3	Welcome, Michael.
1:35.3	Thank you.
1:36.3	Thank you.
1:37.3	Michael barely needs an introduction, but he is the executive director of the Skeptic Society,
1:45.0	publisher of Skeptic Magazine, author of many best-selling books, calmness for scientific American,
1:49.9	and so on and so on and so forth.
1:52.3	Massimo and Michael have both written a fair bit about morality and what science has to say about morality.
	...

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