What are the reasons behind human behavior?
Ellen&Leah
The Gay Twin Studies
Recent Studies at NorthShore Research Institute in Illinois
To what extent is EMOTION more important than REASON in producing HUMAN SCIENCE knowledge?
Gay gene??
Chromosome X
region Xq28
Chromosome 8
region 8q12
Reasoning
1. In 1991, neuroanatomist Simon LeVay published a study of the human brain
2. In 1993, Hamer, at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland
Claim 3:
Emotion is required to produce knowledge in human sciences.
Inductive reasoning
All observed gay twins share a particular gene.
Gay twins are Homosexual.
Therefore homosexuals share a particular gene.
Invalidity of research results
- instinctive observation
- human reaction is based on emotional responses
- emotion relates the effect of the surrounding situation and human reaction.
1. false dilemma
2. Error in inductive reasoning
3. Emotions of people
What are reasons behind people rejecting these studies?
1. Pride, Prejudice
Eg.tribes in Uganda
2. Religious perspectives
3. Belief in themselves
Emotions evoked in the prison guards
- Authoritative
- Frustration
- Anger
- Violence
- dehumanizing the prisoners
- aggressive and sadistic behaviour
- inflicted much abuse on prisoners
Stanford Prison Experiment
Counter claim: Emotion alone is insufficient in reaching conclusions.
- carried out to observe the effects of authority on human behaviour
- test subjects split into 2 groups; "prison guards" & "prisoners"
- prison guards granted authority to do what they wished with the prisoners.
- Logical reasoning is required as well
- Reasoning helps us reach conclusions
- Reasoning enables us to hypothesise & plan ahead.
prison guards: authoritative, in control
prisoners: terrified, humiliated, miserable
Emotions evoked in the prisoners:
- Fear
- Distress
- Misery
- Demoralized
- Desperate
- Prisoners became increasingly submissive & powerless
- Crying
- Fits of rage
- Emotional breakdowns
Conclusion
Emotion
- Emotion determines the validity and significance of human science knowledge.
- Emotion enables to gain required data.
Knowledge of Human Sciences are mainly acquired using emotions, only with the aid of reasoning.
Reasoning
Reasoning can help us to bridge human responses in accordance to the situation humans are faced with.
Murder of Kitty Genovese
Counter claim: Emotion can be unreliable.
Claim: Emotion is the driving force for reason.
- Emotion is overly generalised in human sciences.
- Neglect of the fact that people feel different intensities of emotions.
- Generally assumed that everyone feels similar emotions.
- the reason behind people's intentions is usually emotion
- true facts of the murder were distorted and molded to conform to a theory that humans could be so ignorant and wish to avoid responsibility
- anger drove the people to exaggerate true facts
- we can see that emotion strongly influences actions.
False report of Genovese's murder
- on March 13, 1964, a woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death
- 37 people witnessed the incident
- Genovese assaulted 3 times and all attacks were clearly seen by neighbours.
- Not one person called the police or attempted to help Genovese.
Truth behind Murder of Genovese
- only around 4 neighbours had clearly seen what was happening
- there were only 2 attacks
- the 2nd attack occurred out of sight from most people
- 2 calls had been made to the police and the ambulance
- a female neighbour had gone over to check on Genovese personally