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Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality, by Laurence Tancredi
Free Ebook Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality, by Laurence Tancredi
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In many areas of modern life rapid developments in science are overwhelming established norms. Brain biology, through DNA testing and advanced brain imaging techniques, has given medical scientists new insights into the functioning of the human mind. This erosion of long-standing beliefs has many implications for understanding and treating what society considers to be aberrant or immoral behavior. What medical science is indicating is that the focus of our emphasis on mental processes--particularly free will and intentionality--is shifting to recognition of the important role the physical brain plays on human thought and behavior. In Hardwired Behavior the author argues that social morality begins in the brain, for without the brain there would be no concept of morality. Individual responsibility, therefore, must be reconsidered in the light of biological brain processes. The question of whether new scientific findings destroy the relevance of free will, placing it in the context of biological forces that may operate outside the conscious control of the actor, is one of intense debate. Hardwired Behavior takes this question and moves it into the open by clearly detailing neuroscience discoveries and explaining how the ancient precepts of "morality" that have guided mankind throughout its history must now be seen through the new lens of brain biology.
- Sales Rank: #568680 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Cambridge University Press
- Published on: 2005-09-19
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.98" h x .91" w x 5.98" l, 1.05 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 240 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
Society's assumptions about free will and individual responsibility must be drastically revised in the light of scientific discoveries about the brain, argues this fascinating study. Drawing on a wealth of recent developments in neurobiology, genetics and brain imaging, Tancredi, a professor of psychiatry and a lawyer, examines new findings about the neurological structures and processes that underlie reasoning, emotions and decision-making. He applies these discoveries to such traditional moral concerns as violence, sexual infidelity, lying, gluttony and sloth, and even financial fraud and gambling. The striking results of this research, he notes, indicate that hormones, drugs, genetic abnormalities, injuries and traumatic experiences all have profound effects on brain structure and functioning, and hence on moral choices; indeed, some experiments imply that our actions are initiated by the unconscious brain before we are consciously aware of them, raising the possibility that our sense of moral agency is a retrospective "illusion." Tancredi supplements his rather dry exposition of the science with case studies from his clinical practice, including lengthy profiles of a sex-addicted patient and of a "biologically driven" serial killer, and closes by pondering the possibility and perils of a hypothetical Brave New World-style program of neurological intervention-complete with brain implants-to improve morality. Some will consider Tancredi's talk of the "empathetic" female brain and "systemizing" male brain and his chalking up of pedophilia to "an imbalance of the monoamine neurotransmitters" and homosexuality to "differences in neurohumeral activity during the prenatal phase" to be glibly reductionist, but many will find his well-researched overview of the new science of the brain a stimulating addition to the debate about human nature.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Behind the bad moral choices that sent Martha Stewart to prison, Tancredi discerns abnormal functioning of the brain. Indeed, much of what traditional morality has condemned as greed, lust, or sin looks like impaired neurobiology to this psychiatrist-lawyer, who locates the foundations of an ethical conscience in healthy genetic coding and properly balanced mental chemistry. Real case studies allow readers to see the implications of revolutionary neurological research, illuminating the ways that both the nurturing parent and the rampaging psychopath respond to deep neural impulses. Traditional concepts such as free will and moral accountability do shrink when viewed from this scientific perspective, as Tancredi candidly acknowledges, even conceding the dark possibility of a future in which ambitious social engineers might implant programmable chips into the pliant brains of puppet citizens. But a neuroscience that can enhance rather than diminish our humanity comes into focus as Tancredi highlights research showing how fully the brain can reshape itself by replacing destructive addictions to drugs, sex, or gambling with constructive aspirations and genuine social empathy. The oldest moral concerns and the latest scientific investigations are fused here. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"No one writes as well about these topics as Laurence Tancredi-he is versed in history, philosophy and legal thought with a sophisticated background and understanding of the neurosciences. In this book Dr. Tancredi expertly guides the reader through the complex issues of free will and morality and what new insights are gained through discoveries in the science of the brain."
- Myrna Weissman, Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, College of Physician and Surgeons, Columbia University
"I've read Dr. Tancredi's manuscript carefully and found it fascinating. Dr. Tancredi's provocative and challenging thesis is explored lucidly and systematically. He weaves together clinical cases, research findings, and theory into a provocative and wholly original consideration of the entire notion of free-will and the biological bases of moral behavior. He explains how brain structure and function influence the processing and content of our thoughts and the actions that result, creating a highly original and readable syntheses. Dr. Tancredi is able to present complex and wide-ranging material in an accessible and comprehensible fashing, making for a truly fascinating tale."
-- Arthur J. Barsky, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Director of Psyhiatric Research, Brigham & Women's Hospital
"Joining together the forensic skills of a lawyer and a psychiatrist, Tancredi probes the neurological foundations of moral thought in this fascinating new work. If we are indeed 'hardwired' for morality, then we may someday have the power to rehabilitate even those who today seem to stand completely outside the pales of our moral community, such as the serial killer on death row whom Tancredi interviewed for the book. In a speculative and provocative last chapter, he shows that lawyers can imagine the future through 'law fiction,' just as scientists have done for so long through better established genre of science fiction."
-- Shelia Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Techonology Studies, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard
"...a genuine contribution to increasing public understanding of neuroscience and moral behavior...In addition to providing content that is easy to read, the author makes his commitment to communication evident in early chapters of the book with simple illustrations of relevant neuroanatomy...a straightforward glossary of terms, and a lengthy but excellent notes section...the close alignment of neuroscientific findings about hardwired behavior with ethical and intelligent thinking that respects and honors personal and cultural values is vital. The concept of close alignment is one with which this reviewer agress wholeheartedly and one that should be embraced by all neuroscientists."
--Judy Illes, Stanford University School of Medicine, Nature Neuroscience
"The book's strength lies in its accessibility: the author clearly describes neural systems that contribute to moral behavior, and then relates those systems to illustrative clinical cases. The writing style and topics are at exactly the right level to excite and fascinate undergraduates, especially those from a non-neuroscience background. Highly recommended."
-- Choice
"Laurence Tancredi writes cogently in this fascinating, easy to read volume of the genetic basis of human behaviors."
-- Andrew E. Slaby, PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES
"Neuroscience is progressing extremely rapidly, and there is increasing interest in brain activity relevant to social cognition, addiction, gambling and reward. In this
--Kevin J. Black, PsycCritique
"Thinking entails noticing when we have allowed the instinct for binaries to keep us from the complexity of the phenomena at hand. In much of Hardwired Behavior, Tancredi helps us get over that instinct, and for that we should be grateful."
--- Erik Parsons, The Hastings Center
Most helpful customer reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful.
Introduction to the ethics of the twenty-first century
By Dr. Lee D. Carlson
With the rapid demise of religious ethics and the belief by many that there is a fixed, immutable human nature, it is perhaps of no surprise that some ethicists would look to the brain for answers to fundamental questions in ethics. The study of the brain has revealed, at least in the last decade, that many behaviors, if not all, can be given a causal explanation. But traditional formulations of ethics have held it to be axiomatic that if (human) behaviors are to be classified as either "good" or "bad", i.e. if a system of ethics is to be constructed, then this system must hold that human actions are the result of free will, that they be the result of free, conscious intent.
Research in neuroscience has given serious doubt as to the axiomatic status of free will. Indeed, some researchers have dispensed with the notion all together, and have spoken of the "illusion" of conscious will. If one examines this research with an open but skeptical mind, one will discover a rich source of ideas, supported by empirical data that enable one to begin the construction of a system of ethics that is grounded entirely in neuroscience. The system has been referred to as `neuroethics', and has attracted the attention of some philosophers and many in the legal profession. Neuroethics is based on a profound and some might say frightening view of human nature and personal identity. But it has so far delivered on its (unstated) promise of giving a scientific foundation for ethics.
In this book the author gives a somewhat brief but helpful overview of neuroethics. His background is in psychiatry, and therefore he is able to give a different perspective on the subject, namely of someone who is interacting with patients and therefore observes more directly the consequences of the complicated synapses of the brain. Such a perspective is refreshing, since a successful theory of ethics must address directly the problems, conflicts, and moral dilemmas of real people, and not just engage in abstract theorizing, the latter of which has been the predominant methodology in ethics, especially in philosophical circles.
No doubt there will be many who when reading this book will be aghast at the willingness of the author to question the concept of free will and to embrace the notion that ethical and moral principles are "hardwired" in the brain. It might appear that concepts such as personal responsibility cannot be contained in neuroethics, and if so this has direct consequences both politically and legally. The reader will find however that one can still have a notion of personal responsibility in neuroethics, although it will be one that is different than the ones that are found in many different ethical systems.
If neuroethics is to be comprehensive in scope it must deal meaningfully with some of the more typical issues that ethics grapples with, such as greed, deception, and sexual relations. Can neuroscience explain for example the reason(s) that some individuals crave enormous amounts of wealth, even though they would never have the time nor the energy to enjoy the things their quantity of wealth would allow them to have? The author takes on the first part of this question by identifying the regions of the brain that affect monetary decision-making: the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate cortex. Financial decision-making does of course involve wild swings in emotion, so it is not surprising to learn these regions come into play. The amygdala for example is involved in `conditioned fear', responds sensitively to winning and losing. The author quotes fMRI studies that show how the amygdala is activated when economic losses occur. Interestingly, research of this same type indicates that economic gains do not activate the amygdala to the same extent as losses do. The author though is careful to note that there is a lot of variation in the response of the amygdala, this arising from genetics and brain biology. Some genetic abnormalities he reports can be responsible for some individuals to react with an "excess of fear" when they are confronted with financial decisions that are extremely risky. But it is the `dopamine system' that supplies the appropriate pleasure when wealth is accumulated. In this context, and this is most interesting, the author claims that the human brain loves risk taking, but that these risks are a matter of degree. A reward that is less predictable will result in a larger amount of dopamine produced, thus overwhelming the individual with pleasure. Money, the author says, acts on different pathways of the reward system than "natural rewards", such as food and water, and affects the brain in a way similar to some drugs, such as cocaine. And the pleasures of dopamine (from making money), like the pleasures of cocaine, lead to an excess of behavior in obtaining this money, which we normally refer to as greed. And this greed can result in uncontrolled compulsions with the result that lying, fraud, or embezzlement can become frequent strategies in the obsessive goal of obtaining more money.
Grounding the basis of ethics in neuronal processes raises issues in traditional (philosophical) formulations of ethics that the author does not address. He is correct to do so, since these formulations are too abstract to be of much value to the real problems of humankind. There is much that neuroethics needs to answer before it can be practical, but the author's discussion makes it readily apparent that it should be considered seriously. In addition, it brings up complex legal and political issues dealing with the genetic engineering of the brain. The author addresses the latter topic in the book by including a hypothetical debate that is set in the year 2100. In that debate certain groups of individuals are advocating brain modification in order to alleviate or eliminate negative social behaviors. The engineering of the brain may seem disquieting to some, but its consequences are awesome, and it should be pursued with cautious optimism.
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Essential Reading for Anyone Concerned About Behavior, Responsibility, Crime and Punishment
By Dr. Richard G. Petty
This really is an outstanding piece of work. The author is both a psychiatrist and a lawyer who argues, quite rightly, that many of our assumptions about free will and individual responsibility must be drastically revised in the light of scientific discoveries about the brain.
This is part of a larger debate that is going on within psychiatry, psychology and the legal profession. As an example, at what age should a young person be able to drive a car or be legally liable for their decisions? The driving question comes up because the brain and nervous system of a fifteen-year-old is still far from being fully mature, and may lead to poor coordination and decision-making. Can an eighteen-year-old be held liable for his or her behavior, at a time that his or her brain is not fully formed? Yet he or she is able to fight for his or her country. Our answers to those questions are likely to be a mixture of political positions and personal experience. But now we also have to factor in our burgeoning knowledge about the brain. There seems no doubt that this explosion of knowledge about the brain will be factored into some future legal decisions.
In Tancredi's book, he applies knowledge derived from recent research to such traditional moral concerns as violence, sexual infidelity, lying and physical "excess." For anybody working in the field, it is very clear that hormones, nutritional status, drugs, genetic abnormalities, injuries and traumatic experiences all have profound effects on the structure and functioning of the brain. Therefore they may all have an impact on our moral choices. Some experimental work implies that our actions are initiated by pre-conscious and unconscious processes in the brain before we are consciously aware of them. Does that mean that our sense of moral agency is a retrospective illusion? And what about free will?? Is that an illusion too?
I very much like this book, and also the recent book by Michael Gazzaniga, entitled The Ethical Brain. But for all the research, we remain bewilderingly complex creatures, and there is evidence for the existence of systems - for instance social systems - that can interact with and over-ride some of the neurological ones. So even after reading and studying hundreds of books and scientific papers and talking to hundreds of scientists around the world, I remain convinced that free will is not an illusion, and that there really is a genuine morality which is a great deal more than the firing of neurons in the brain.
Highly recommended.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Are We Hardwired for Good and Evil?
By Dexter Bateman
Summary
Laurence Tancredi's, "Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality," provides an excellent, thorough investigation of the relationship between brain biology and "moral" actions. Current neuroscience research is moving farther away from the mind-brain dichotomy and instead suggesting that the physical brain has a major role in shaping our emotions. Tancredi examines how specific aspects of the brain determine moral thinking and repeatedly asks, "could it be possible that we are assigning too much power to `free will' and blaming the perpetrator, who may instead be a `victim' of his or her own biology?" (pg. 13)
The Moral Brain
The first four chapters examine the potential for a physical, biological basis for a "moral brain." First, Tancredi acknowledges that our current notions of morality and well-defined "evil" actions (i.e. murder, stealing, etc) are social constructs, which have evolved to promote stability in our community. Neuroscientific discoveries have been complicating these conclusions, however, by suggesting that certain aspects of our behavior are predetermined by physical aspects of our brain biology and genetics. Some early examples of this paradigm shift are the experiments of Libet, Platt, and Glimcher, whose research seems to diminish the concept of our free will over simple actions like moving our hand.
The fourth chapter provides an anatomical exploration of the brain, organized into the emotional brain (amygdala, hippocampus, the anterior cingulated cortex and the hypothalamus), the frontal lobes, the inhibitory networks, and the mirror-neuron system.
Bad Without Conscience
This chapter explores the troubled life of the serial killer Ricky Green, in an attempt to decipher his psychopathic personality. There is a strong case that genetics may play an important role in these abnormal personalities: Recent research has suggested that there is an "aggression gene," characterized by a defect in the gene that codes for the enzyme mono-amine oxidase A. However, some of these genetic predispositions may need some form of external activation (nurture) to become part of one's character: "The hardwiring of moral ability in our brain, according to selection (nature), is genetically determined. Throughout our lives we discover, through personal moral challenges, what has already been built into our brains" (pg. 81).
Brain Biology and Sex
Several aspects of human behavior, including mathematical, visuospatial and verbal abilities, demonstrate significant differences between males and females. It is thought that complex steroidal interactions with different parts of the brain at different periods in our development determine sexual behavior and gender identity. Tancredi also presents biological differences between homosexual and heterosexual males, in humans and many species, debunking the viewpoint of homosexuality as an immoral lifestyle choice. Throughout the chapter, Tancredi presents the complicated biology of sexual attraction and arousal, lust, and romantic love.
Deception
Although it is universally condemned, lying seems like an innate skill. There are obvious evolutionary benefits of self-protection and self-promotion as a result of lying. Moreover, lying seems to be present in some primates and in children as young as three years old, even when these children are not in fear of punishment. Functional MRI has revealed certain areas of increased brain activity during deception, suggesting that our brain biologically accommodates for lying and is hardwired for doing so.
Money
This chapter explores the brain activity associated with monetary decisions and risk. Tancredi recalls patients with damages to their amygdala and frontal lobe, and how these alterations impact their ability to assess risk and make advantageous choices. There is also a strong association between money and the brain's reward circuitry, resulting in dopamine activation, a euphoric high and the potential for excessive greed and compulsive gambling. "What are the moral implications of abnormal or antisocial behaviors (gambling among them) that are, indeed, biologically driven? And we mustn't forget that there was an evolutionary advantage for many of these behaviors, which we now see as criminal because of their disruptive potential to society" (pg. 137).
Bad vs Mad
Although there is only a small difference in people we characterize as "bad" versus those we label "mad," there is an enormous discrepancy in the way we treat those individuals. However, "We are learning that many of the distinctions we are accustomed to making are not so clear; significant overlaps appear to exist" (pg. 143). Those that have full control over their bad actions are likely to represent a much smaller percentage of those we now label as bad. This would drastically change the way we treat people who demonstrate destructive behaviors like addiction and alcoholism. The "mentally ill person cannot exercise normal control over his or her thinking, behavior, or acts and thus cannot be held to normal standards of responsibility" (pg. 152).
Creating a Moral Brain
The final chapter presents the discussion of using future medical technologies to interfere or select certain desirable characteristics of a moral brain. In the same way drugs are used to combat depression, anxiety, ADD and other disorders, we may one day be able to eradicate other "evil" tendencies. But what are the moral implications of altering brain biology to modify "abnormal" characteristics such as sexual behavior or addiction? "The merits of creating a moral, if not monolithic society, have to be balanced against the possibilities of altering basic elements of an individual's personality and the benefits of diversity--even deviancy--to further the creative interests of a society" (pg. 174).
Conclusion
Overall, I feel this was an excellent discussion of the fundamental importance of brain biology in determining moral behavior. By comparing evolutionary processes, brain structural abnormalities and clinical cases, Tancredi presents a compelling argument supporting a genetic predisposition towards certain immoral behaviors. He also proposes thoughtful questions about the far-reaching implications of this new evidence: How do we interact with and punish perpetrators of deviant actions and determine their accountability? I appreciate the open-endedness of such questions, as he does not propose a definitive answer, but emphasizes the need for a public discourse. A highly informative and entertaining read, I recommend this book for everyone interested in the relationship between morality, society and our brains!
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