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By disrupting brain activity in a particular region,
neuroscientists can sway people’s views of moral situations. Publication Date: March 30, 2010
[Maybe they should study their own morality, if they have some? -ed.]
moral neuroscience
In the new study, the researchers wanted to go beyond fMRI experiments
to observe what would happen if they could actually disrupt activity in
the right TPJ. Their success marks a major step forward for the field of
moral neuroscience, says Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, professor of
philosophy at Duke University. ...
The researchers used a noninvasive technique known as transcranial
magnetic stimulation (TMS) to selectively interfere with brain activity
in the right TPJ. A magnetic field applied to a small area of the skull
creates weak electric currents that impede nearby brain cells’ ability
to fire normally, but the effect is only temporary. ...
Saxe’s lab is now studying the role of theory of mind in judging situations where the attempted harm was not a physical threat. The researchers are also doing a study on the role of the right TPJ in judgments of people who are morally lucky or unlucky. For example, a drunk driver who hits and kills a pedestrian is unlucky, compared to an equally drunk driver who makes it home safely, but the unlucky homicidal driver tends to be judged more morally blameworthy.
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