Is There a Difference Between Adopted and Genetically Related?

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The study asked people whether a man was adopted or genetically related. People were more likely to say that he should donate money to the family of his great-grandfathers. The researchers said they found it wasn't about moral responsibility, but sense of obligation.

Tamler and David discuss whether giving up our belief in free will makes us more likely to abandon our moral standards.

Links

“You Can’t Handle the Truth!”

Jesse Bering “Scientists say free will probably doesn’t exist, but urge: “Don’t stop believing!” Excellent accessible description of the Vohs and Schooler study that we discuss.

Tamler’s blog post in Psychology Today criticizing the pessimistic views of Smilansky and Vohs and Schooler: "No Soul? I can live with that. No free will? Aaahhhh!".

“Eat the poo-poo.” “Like ice cream…”

Josh Knobe on free will and experimental philosophy.

Tamler's dialogue on some of the problems with current experimental work on free will: "Free Will and Experimental Philosophy: An Intervention."

“I want him dead! I want his family dead!”

Uhlmann, Zhu, Pizarro & Bloom “Blood is Thicker: Moral Spillover Effects Based on Kinship”

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