Ethics III.pdf

ETHICS III PHI101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY DR SIMON LANGFORD  OUTLINE Recap Altruism Ultimate vs. instrumental desires Psychological experiments by Daniel Batson to test for altruism ...

ETHICS III PHI101 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY DR SIMON LANGFORD  OUTLINE Recap Altruism Ultimate vs. instrumental desires Psychological experiments by Daniel Batson to test for altruism  RECAP In the previous class, we considered the question of why people act morally. Two answers were suggested: Psychological egoism Altruism: it’s not impossible to do something for our own people’s sake sometimes we do it for them. In this class, we will explore psychological experiments looking to test whether we behave altruistically.  TESTING FOR EMPATHY Daniel Batson and his associates have conducted experiments to test the empathy-altruism hypothesis. [Empathy is] an other-oriented emotional reaction to seeing someone suffer. The hypothesis says: when people feel empathy, they will have a desire to help the person in need, and that will make them more likely to provide help compared with people who do not feel empathy.  TESTING FOR EMPATHY Suppose empathy does make people more likely to help others. Would this show that altruism is true? Three possibilities: Maybe empathy causes an ultimate desire for the wellbeing of another person. Maybe empathy causes a desire to help just so other people won’t disapprove of us. Maybe empathy causes an unpleasant feeling, and we desire to help just to avoid that unpleasant feeling. Batson’s experiments aim to test which explanation is correct.  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS Batson compares the empathy-altruism hypothesis with the social punishment hypothesis. The latter hypothesis says: when people feel empathy, they fear that if they don’t help, people will think badly of them, and they will suffer negative consequences in the future. Experiment Subjects told they are participating in an “impression formation study.” Told they have been randomly assigned to the role of “listener.” Told they will read notes of another subject assigned the role of “communicator.” Given two notes from “Janet” who reveals she is lonely and hopes to find a friend.  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS Subjects fill in a form giving their impressions of Janet and describing the emotions they felt. Then given an unexpected opportunity to befriend Janet by taking part in a study of long- term friendships involving a meeting and phone calls with Janet. Subjects who agreed were asked how much time they are willing to spend with Janet next month. Subjects are put into one of four conditions which vary along two dimensions: the amount of empathy induced and the potential for social punishment.  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS High Empathy Condition Subjects were told to read the notes carefully, try to take the writer’s perspective, and imagine what the communicator feels. Low Empathy Condition Subjects were told to read the notes as objectively as possible and to focus on the techniques used to get the communicator’s message across.  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS Low Potential for Punishment Subjects told nobody else would read Janet’s notes; subject’s report is confidential; nobody would know if they didn’t want to help Janet; Janet would never know they were asked to participate in a follow-up study unless they chose to participate. High Potential for Punishment Subjects told experimenter would read Janet’s notes and compare them with the subject’s report; experimenter would know whether they agreed to the second study; Janet would know if they declined second study.  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS Potential for Level of Empathy Negative Social Consequences Low High High ? ? Low ? ? Which of the four groups do you think was most willing to help Janet by spending time with her?  SOCIAL PUNISHMENT HYPOTHESIS Results The results support the empathy-altruism hypothesis not the social punishment hypothesis. That suggests: people engage in pro-social behaviour because they desire to help others not because they fear negative consequences of not helping.  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS Batson also compared the empathy-altruism hypothesis with the aversive( discomfort feeling) –arousal( arise us to stop this feeling ) reduction hypothesis. The latter says: seeing somebody in need and feeling empathy causes an unpleasant feeling, and people help the needy to get rid of that bad feeling. Experiment Subjects watch staged experiment in which “Elaine” is given electric shocks at random intervals while trying to complete a task. Told to write a report on how Elaine performs under aversive conditions.  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS Elaine appears very distressed after first trial and says she is unusually sensitive to mild shocks due to a childhood trauma. Experimenter asks subjects if they are willing to take Elaine’s place. Subjects are put into one of four conditions which vary along 2 dimensions: the amount of empathy induced and how easily they can escape from the experiment. Easy Escape Subjects told that if they don’t take Elaine’s place, they are free to go.  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS No Easy Escape Subjects told that if they don’t take Elaine’s place, they must watch 8 more trials. High Empathy Subjects read report on Elaine’s values and interests before the trial. The values and interests matched their own. ( Low Empathy Subjects read report on Elaine’s values and interests before the trial. The values and interests were very different from their own.  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS Level of difficulty of Level of Empathy escape Low High Easy ? ? Difficult ? ? Which of the four groups do you think was most willing to help Elaine by taking her place?  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS Empathy-Altruism Prediction Aversive-Arousal Reduction Prediction  AVERSIVE-AROUSAL REDUCTION HYPOTHESIS Results Does this positive support for the empathy-altruism hypothesis vindicate altruism?  EGOISM DEFEATED? Not quite. Critics have pointed to these rival hypotheses: Supernatural punishment: empathy causes subjects to fear that a supernatural being will disapprove and punish them if they don’t provide help. ( god will punish them so they provide help ) Super-bad feeling: empathy causes a bad feeling, and subjects think the bad feeling won’t go away unless they give help. These explanations support egoism, and they are both consistent with the results of Batson’s experiments. To prove we act altruistically, Batson would need to show these rival explanations are false.  SUMMARY Batson’s experiments Altruism vs fear of social punishment Altruism vs desire to avoid a bad feeling Criticisms of Batson’s support for altruism point to rival explanations: Supernatural punishment Super-bad feeling  QUESTIONS Explain Batson’s empathy-altruism hypothesis. Explain the social punishment hypothesis. Describe Batson’s first experiment and explain what Batson found. Explain the aversive-arousal reduction hypothesis. Describe Batson’s second experiment and explain what Batson found. Explain the criticisms of Batson’s experiments. Do you think we are able to act altruistically? Explain why or why not. `