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Originally Posted by TheSquealer
I would suggest that not really accurate to look for a single origin or cause or identify a "single process" that causes anything. Your brain is a massive, interconnected network of countless areas, all performing a variety of tasks, some dedicated to specific function and a great deal that isn't. There can be 1000 things driving a behavior, each to one degree or another. Further, a lot can be going wrong to one degree or another in many areas making decisions poor or next to impossible.
Decisions are basically made like this... first you have a positive or negative flash of affect... second, you seek information (from experience, etc) or fabricate something to explain it in the absence of information/experience. Intuitive emotions come first... rationalization second. So i can ask you to screw your sister and you have an instant flash of disgust and revulsion. I ask you why and you'll give me the standard "incest is wrong", "incest causes birth defects" etc etc etc. If i shoot down every answer with sound, well reasoned arguments "both of you can use birth control", "there is no risk of birth defects", "is it wrong if you both consent and agree to it and no one ever knows" etc etc etc... you'll still have that strong flash of negative affect and still struggle to fabricate reasons to explain it.
The same happens in reverse. A weak flash of emotion or none at all for a set of choices... means no clear winner and leaves you going nuts trying to argue every side of everything, hoping to stumble on an answer you can live with an move on. Psychopaths go through life like this. Every set of choices is an emotional tie. Punt a baby across the room. Pet a kitten. Set a family on fire = one course of action is as good as any other.
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In the excitement over neuroscience's recent discoveries I think that the effect of one's environment is being minimized. If from the time I was a child I saw incestuous relationships around me, it was accepted, when you would suggest I have sex with a sister I wouldn't have any feelings of disgust.
Prior to the 1930's if you studied the young male population of Germany you wouldn't find an unusual high degree of violent psychopaths, all it took was a charismatic political leader to turn normal young men into sadistic psychopaths.
Morality is very strongly mediated by our environment. When a 3 year old hits another child over the head with a garden tool lying on the ground and his victim cries you see concern/confusion on his face, if there were a group of adults around watching the scene and they started laughing and cheering in approval that kid would continue hurting other kids and animals.