Godless Morality

Cotton-top Tamarin Monkeys

Science - hard nosed, quantifiable indisputable science - is the Holy Grail of popular culture.  Intellectuals seek status, fame and fortune by debunking previously held notions and replacing what they've destroyed with something they've found.  It's presented as truth and accepted as fact.

Dr. Marc Hauser, PH.D. was a renowned scholar at Harvard University in the field of evolutionary psychology.  He theorized that morality is the result of evolutionary processes rather than being given by God.

He co-authored "Godless Morality" with Peter Singer in 2006, stating "It is important for us to be aware of the universal set of moral intuitions so that we can reflect on them and, if we choose, act contrary to them.  We can do this without blasphemy, because it is our own nature, not God, that is the source of our morality."

In other words, even though these "moral intuitions" theoretically developed for good reason over eons, it's OK to violate them because they're not from God.  It's impressive that moral relativism, where morals are personal and subjective, is supported by such an elite source.

Well, not so elite anymore.  Hauser somehow supported his theory by watching endangered cotton-top monkeys, little critters about the size of a squirrel.  He was convicted of scientific misconduct in 2010 by Harvard after it was proved he had manipulated data.  The dishonesty was revealed when graduate students under his tutelage suspected fraud and blew the whistle.

The case became known because it was partially  federally funded (who knows why the feds would fund this, but that's another question) and the agency made it public.  Otherwise, according to Michael D. Smith, Dean of Harvard's faculty of Arts and Sciences, the usual sanctions could have included:

1.  Correcting the papers called into question.

2.  Involuntary leave.

3.  Additional oversight on other research.

4.  Restricting applications for research grants.

5.  Restricting contact with students.

Notice that publicizing the conduct isn't on the list.

Harvard considers sanctions for scientific misconduct to be confidential, so in non-federally funded studies fraudulent papers are quietly corrected, penalties are secret and the public is left believing the publicized original conclusions.

In the end, Hauser's predispositon against faith will undoubtedly find voice at Harvard or whatever other academic institution hires him.  And those who naively believe he's objective will be nudged toward skepticism of God.

Colleges tend to be anti-faith hotbeds.  If Harvard University buries wrongdoing out of sight, you have to wonder how much other "hard nosed, quantifiable, indisputable" - but biased and wrong - notions about faith enjoy credibility from academic communities.

All of this is apparently OK when you construct morals that ignore God. The institutions might even justify their slap-on-the-wrist mentality by seeing such violations as victimless crimes.  After all, the only thing damaged is the truth.

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