Enerolisa Paredes

ENG 111
Prof. Bryant
The Moral Instinct
Part one
1) Steven Pinker motive is to explain what is the moral sense. How society gets side
tracked with information that does not help them evolve.
2.) Does society profit form the development of moral science? Is moral a relative sense
changing from one perspective to another depending on the person?
3) Moral sense is not a word that can be easily defined due to it complexity. Its foundation
varies depending on the observers or believers point of view.
Part two
Supporting Ideas:
Which of the following people would you say is the most admirable: Mother Teresa,
Bill Gates or Norman Borlaug?
-Borlaug father of the Green revolution, saving a billion lives through agricultural
science.
The Moral switch
- Pinker describes the moral switch as something that causes us to judge whether
something is shameless or just imprudent.
- Moralization is a psychological state that can be turned on and off like a switch.
-The rules moralization invokes are felt to be universal.
-People feel that those who commit immoral acts deserve to be punished.
Pinker references a study made by Paul Rozin on the differences between health
vegetarians and moral vegetarians.
-There are two different types of vegetarian morals, one of them choose to make the
decision of not eating animals for ethical reasons. Others choose a vegetarian way of life
due to healthy choices in their lifestyle.

Steven Pinker tries to make a statement on how morals are defined by people. It is very
subjective and is influenced by education, upbringing, and way of thinking of a person.
There are moral concepts that are universal. In a very organized and structurized manner he
makes valid points on what is human nature.