Of Morals And Magnets

Forget the free-will model of morality you learned in “Justice” lectures. If a recent scientific study is correct, you might be able to sway your entire section to your line of thinking using one simple object: a magnet. But how could a physical object alter our most fundamental beliefs?

Last week, Harvard and MIT researchers published a study supporting the idea that using magnets on the brain can affect moral decision-making. Study participants were subjected to transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, to confuse the neurons in the brain’s moral center. Either during or after this treatment, subjects listened to fictional scenarios and judged the morality of the characters involved. Treated participants showed slight but consistent changes in moral judgment, condemning accidental transgressions but forgiving failed villainous acts.

Liane L. Young ’04, one of the co-authors of the report, sees these results as possible evidence for a biological account of the way we determine right and wrong. “Morality could be decomposed into these specific neural and cognitive processes,” she said, referring to intention versus outcome.

But not all campus morality experts are convinced. Daniel Wikler, a professor at the School of Public Health said that omitting intentions from moral assessment is “not [a value] that any serious person would ever hold.”

“It’s not clear to me from the study that this shows that magnets change people’s values,” he said. He adds that TMS may have simply led to a decreased ability to process information about intention rather than a complete disregard for it.

Edward D. Grom ’12 is also skeptical about the power of the magnet. “So if I bring a magnet along in my pocket, I can steal from children, and their moms will just chuckle and say, ‘Oh, you meant well’?” he said. “Let’s be real, people.”