[119209] in Cypherpunks
Re: *** Study: Brain's moral compass found
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sean Roach)
Tue Oct 19 16:51:18 1999
Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.19991019152549.00873530@mail.intplsrv.net>
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 15:25:49 -0500
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
From: Sean Roach <roach_s@mail.intplsrv.net>
In-Reply-To: <199910191831.OAA15595@cti06.citenet.net>
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Reply-To: Sean Roach <roach_s@mail.intplsrv.net>
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At 02:23 PM 10/19/99 -0400, Jean-Francois Avon wrote:
>
>===============================================================
>NEW YORK (AP) - A key part of the brain's circuitry for learning
>moral and social rules lies right behind the forehead, a study
>suggests. Antisocial behavior might depend at least in part on
>malfunctions in this circuitry, researchers said. But it's too early
>to draw conclusions, and the study doesn't mean that all antisocial
>behavior can be blamed on damage to this area, said lead author
>Steven W. Anderson. The area, called the prefrontal cortex, has long
>been known to affect social behavior. Prior studies show that people
>who sustain damage to it as adults can start acting irresponsibly. A
>happily married man, for example, might take up with prostitutes and
>start bouncing checks. See
>http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2561690371-06b
>===============================================================
>
>Geee! I know a few happily married man who take up with prostitutes
>and never had a head injury... I like this move to equate this
>action to irresponsibility... Next thing is, they'll make
>unfaithfullness a crime, like drunk driving, or what?
>
Also, they seem to be lumping antisocial, irrational, and amoral
behavior under one heading. I'M antisocial. If given a choice
between visiting with family from up to 750 miles away, attending a
social function with friends from work, playing with the family dog,
and taking a walk around the section, I'll frequently choose the
walk. All of these examples have happened.
This does not mean that I'm irrational. Nor does it suggest a lack
of morals on my part.
Now I've got to figure out how to sneak past Winchester so he won't
follow me. He tends to challenge a nearby neighbors dog as they meet
if for no other reason.
Sean Roach
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