what do applied ethicists say is the chief consideration to take into account when deciding how we should live

the impact our actions have on others' well-being, especially in terms of harm, benefit, and fairness

what questions are raised when we see a phenomenon like the dress illusion?

question about how accurate our perception is and whether everyone sees reality the same way

what are the 5 main ethical beliefs

1. harm/care 2. fairness/equity 3. in-group loyalty 4. respect for authority 5. sense of purity

What patterns did jonathan Haidt notice in how groups value these ethical beliefs? What is the difference between liberals and conservatives?

found that everyone seemed to have these 5 beliefs. Liberals primarily cared about fairness and harm/care, whereas conservatives cared equally about all 5 beliefs.

Why is this a problem when deciding what ethics we put forth for a group?

everyone can have different views of emphasis on each ethical branch

Define "homeostasis."

to have balance

What role do the emotions play in how we regulate homeostasis? can we simply tell someone not to let your emotions cloud your judgment?

No, because emotions are a drive for homeostasis

For Damasio, what is the role of culture? when people argue that their culture is the best what did he call this?

Culture ultimately meets homeostatic needs, meaning arguing over culture would be a waste of time. culture is nothing more than a rationalization.

why did Sapolsky say its important to remember that brains were shaped 300000 years ago? Does testosterone cause aggression?

because brains were shaped for survival, aggression can be influenced by evolution and environment, not just hormones

Oxytocin stimulates our brain to care for others, as long as they are members of our own tribe. this same hormone makes us aggressive towards others. what was the evolutionary advantage of this?

the advantage is that it can be hacked by using cultural markers indicating they are apart of our tribe

what role does culture play in mitigating who we call us or them? how can this be used for good or for bad?

can be used for good by using our culture to connect us, and for bad by othering people

Humans evolved from a form of survival of the friendliest. how did this adaptation allow us to thrive?

by making people more cooperative, socil, and able to work together

why did Daniel Kahneman say human judgment is noisy?

meaning our judgment is inconsistent

Give an example of noisy judgment.

a judge giving out 2 different sentences for the same case depending on the time of day

according to Kahnemen, why do we need decision hygiene and learning to think slowly

to be able to take time to think and process

what is the science that studies how humans make mental shortcuts to reach conclusions quickly without extensive analysis?

cognitive phychology

how have evolutionary pressures and environmental conditions shaped humans' reliance on heuristics, leading to rapid, automatic judgments in decision-making? why is it related to how many calories the brain consumes in a day?

humans rely on heuristics because quick decisions helped survival and saved brain energy, since brains use many calories a day

give 2 examples of cognitive bias and how they impact decision-making.

1. conformation bias makes people notice information that supports their beliefs 2. stereotyping bias causes quick judgement based on assumptions about groups

why might over-imitation help explain why cultures persist in similar ways for so long? why does this make culture slow to change?

keeps cultures similar because people copy traditions without question, making culture slow to change