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Born good? Babies help unlock the origins of morality

November 18, 2012 4:53 PM

Can infants tell right from wrong? And if so, how would you know? Come to Yale's baby lab. Lesley Stahl reports.

Born good? Babies help unlock the origins of morality

60 Minutes OverTimeIs your child fair when no one is watching?

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by RebelDolly33 February 11, 2013 9:38 PM EST
I think babies dvelope as the environment around them develops with the siblings they have and the amont of time spent talking to the babies.
My grandson has 3 other brthers ho are around him a lot and they talk to him and play with him and he is walking at 9 months,playing with his brothers and a vry happy baby.
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by brotherunity January 12, 2013 4:02 PM EST
My oh my, it's interesting to see how people read what they want into studies like this. All the secularists see this as proof that original sin is a lie, and all the fundamentalists insist that it proves the doctrine of original sin... most amusing.
What does the study really show though? It shows that babies are evidently able to recognize activities that cause suffering, and that they are not favorably disposed towards beings that commit these acts... unless they are perceived as "other". So it appears that a babies innate sense of goodness can be overridden by fear.
So the real question is: How do we help children to cultivate their innate goodness and help them overcome the innate fear of the "other".
It seems to me that teachings like secular humanism and religious pluralism (which essentially teach that there is no "other"), are far more effective than fundamentalist and sectarian stances (which teach that everyone outside of the chosen circle are "others")
As long as people insist on teachings of exclusivity and inerrancy, there will always be suspicion and fear... and our children will learn to override their innate goodness in favor of judgement and condemnation.
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by MOMMYLU1 December 21, 2012 2:53 PM EST
It seem as if they made the Word of God True...that we are all born with sin and it takes the cultivating of us a parents to engrave our kids to choose right over wrong and as they get older they would choose the right thing over the wrong thing demonstrated in this video as it is said in Proverbs 22:6 (http://bible.cc/proverbs/22-6.htm )...
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by Bjorn_Talvi December 14, 2012 5:49 PM EST
That's a very interesting assessment TangentX... but an ulterior motive is still an ulterior motive (and if one has an ulterior motive, well, I'm sorry, said folks are not being genuine).
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by TangentX December 10, 2012 11:45 AM EST
You know, there was no technological reason that this research could have been done by the ancient Greeks in 700 BC. But we have a long history of seeing what we want to see in the world. This tells that science, the objective search for truth, in the social and psychological realms is thousands of years behind other sciences, like warfare or electronic. This research is especially interesting given my personal experience with the doctrine that we are evil creature, born in sin, and only accepting domination and submission to the divine grace of Jesus Christ can we know morality. Well, finally, science is helping to transcend the nonsense.

This seems so much more interesting and important than building more and better drones.
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by RachelM2012 December 2, 2012 1:05 AM EST
This makes complete sense to me, but it makes me feel like I am doomed. I am thankful that older children seemed to want to give more possessions to the other person, but I wonder if this is not so much because of moral behavior, but rather because it is a way of making friendships. In Anthropology, for instance, there are different forms of exchange and I learned that people will often share their food with others because it is expected that that person whom is receiving the food will reward the giver later. I feel like I understand a little bit more how someone can hate another without even knowing them or create judgements about people, but it makes me feel very sad and I feel doomed to hatred if someone does not understand me.
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by BippityBoppityBlue November 30, 2012 5:18 PM EST
Well I guess if we could determine before a baby is born that it would be "immoral" due to genetics, it could be chopped into pieces and thrown out like it was just garbage, and perhaps the parents or whomever it is determined "owns" the egg and sperm, can either try again for a better model, or perhaps some other types of genetic manipulations can ensure a better outcome for the parents.

Babies are chopped into pieces and thrown out like garbage for far less reason than their genetic propensity for immorality; some babies are chopped into pieces and thrown like garbage because of their bad timing, i.e., they had the misfortune of having been conceived at a time when the woman would rather not be pregnant or would rather not have a baby. And some babies are chopped into pieces and thrown out like garbage because they are the "wrong" sex, and others are chopped into pieces and thrown out like garbage because, after all, there are lots of other things than being "immoral" that can get a baby killed.

Like being "unwanted".
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by CuriousWatcher November 26, 2012 11:55 AM EST
Did they consider that right-handed babies would be more likely to reach with the right hand to the closest bear. (At what age do babies show a right or left hand preference?) Also, isn't it possible that the person holding the baby(presumably Mom)could be (unconsciously)giving subtle clues to the baby since parents usually want their child to "ace the test"? Another thought: are the babies choosing the "good" bear because it is "good" or because the other bear is potentially "dangerous" (not bad) to them. In other words, does this test show a preference for "goodness" or an avoidance of danger/aggresiveness?
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by mollysue3 November 25, 2012 4:55 PM EST
Why rewrite or restudy the human condition when the Creator of every single thing has already shown us the Truth of who we are, and why we need a substitution for our sin. Psalm 51 is only one passage that makes this clear...esp verses 5-6. Not that the act of conceiving is sinful, but our condition as humans is sinful from the very beginning:


1.Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.


3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
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by catmuffin November 24, 2012 2:56 PM EST
Babies just like adults like things and other people that can benefit them. They are selfish just like any other living organism.
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