SACRAMENTO, Calif.,
Nov. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- An
occasion linking "thankfulness" with "giving" tends to highlight a
human inclination to share with others.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141126/161013
Photo -
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141126/161012-INFO
Doesn't sharing one's bounty with fellow humans, especially
those less fortunate, seem like "a good thing" to do?
Science has made considerable progress in investigating humans'
moral sentiments, and now there is an infographic and a new web
portal to shed light on what researchers have found out so far
about how human morality has come about.
(www.the-brights.net/morality)
The Brights' Net, a nonprofit organization dedicated to
"illuminating and elevating the naturalistic worldview," has
produced the infographic and its companion web materials to
enlighten the mass public on the naturalistic origins of human
morality.
This fresh online material offers easy public access to
straightforward and scientifically substantiated information
pointing out what is inherent in human moral sentiments and common
ethical patterns. Sharing our abundance? In a
nutshell, the evidence is "in" that human morality doesn't come
from God or other supernatural sources. It is part of
us.
Expressing gratitude? We have our own humanity to
thank!
Currently, the infographic is available at the new web portal in
a dozen languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Brazilian
Portuguese, European Portuguese, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Bahasa
Indonesia, Czech, and Esperanto). The Brights' Net has plans to
translate content into even more languages (e.g., Hebrew, Arabic,
Turkish).
Dr. Mynga Futrell, Executive
Director, explained the need for disseminating such information:
"Persons who have a worldview free of supernatural elements are
continuously up against the notion that they are somehow lacking in
morality. We sought to simply and factually address these
misunderstandings about human morality with candid and credible
information."
"The view that morality is a system of rules imposed by God or
gods has long been disavowed in academia; yet it is the prevailing
view in many societies today," according to Jason Halpern, who constructed the web
portal.
The four main statements depicted on the infographic and the 97
scientific studies on morality that serve as evidence for them were
compiled by a team of volunteers from The Brights and then
peer-reviewed for authentication by biologists, psychologists,
social scientists, and philosophers who study morality. The web
portal, www.the-brights.net/morality, provides additional lay
explanations of the statements and links to recommended readings on
the subject.
The Brights' Net and the aforementioned panel of scientists note
that, according to the empirical evidence, humans are naturally
inclined towards both moral and immoral behavior.
"The Brights offer us a smart and sophisticated, yet still
highly accessible, window into the evolutionary roots of human
morality. Everyone should read this [infographic] and then send it
on to ten friends," stated Jessica
Pierce, Ph.D., a bioethicist from the University of Colorado.
For more information about the "Reality about Morality" Project,
visit the web portal and infographic at
www.the-brights.net/morality.
Contact:
Mynga
Futrell
(916) 737-5157
Email
www.the-brights.net
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-brights-net-produces-reality-about-morality-infographic-in-12-languages-300001474.html
SOURCE The Brights' Net