SCIENCE CANNOT DETERMINE HUMAN VALUES. Issue 43 (29th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Earp, Brian D.
• Is Part Of: Think. Volume 15:Issue 43(2016)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 23
• Publication Date: 2016-03-29
• Subjects: Philosophy -- Periodicals; 105
• DOI: 10.1017/S1477175616000026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1477-1756

Abstract

Abstract : Sam Harris, in his book The Moral Landscape, argues that 'science can determine human values.' Against this view, I argue that while secular moral philosophy can certainly help us to determine our values, science – at least as that word is commonly understood – must play a subservient role. To the extent that science can 'determine' what we ought to do, it is only by providing us with empirical information, which can then be slotted into a chain of deductive (moral) reasoning. The premises of such reasoning, however, can in no way be derived from the scientific method: they come, instead, from philosophy – and common sense.