Dialogue with the Dalai Lama - Part 2 of 3Dialogue with the Dalai Lama - Part 2 of 3
All In The Mind
His Holiness the Dalai Lama joins All in the Mind's Natasha Mitchell and leading scholars in a dialogue about science, wellbeing and our moral minds. This week Harvard evolutionary biologist and author of Moral Minds, Marc Hauser, asks - does biology constrain our mind's potential and our moral capacity? Is there a place for moral outrage? Next week, founder of the field of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, and Buddhist scholar Alan Wallace join the fray.
30:07•12 Dec 2009
Biology, Compassion and Moral Outrage: The Dalai Lama in Conversation
Episode Overview
- Research on children’s delay of gratification suggests early self-control is tied to later outcomes like relationships, education and risk of delinquency.
- Genetic differences in brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin can buffer or intensify the impact of an abusive environment.
- Psychopaths may understand right and wrong yet lack emotional concern, raising complex questions for legal and moral judgement.
- The Dalai Lama argues for secular ethics rooted in our nature as social animals and our need for affection, rather than religious belief.
- Moral outrage can function as a virtue, but Buddhist perspectives emphasise directing fierce concern towards harmful mental states, not the person.
“"A society that didn't feel moral outrage would never function as a moral society. It's a virtue. It's a virtue like compassion is a virtue."”
In this eye-opening episode, you'll learn about the strange mix of biology, ethics and compassion sitting at the heart of our moral lives. Recorded live in Sydney, His Holiness the Dalai Lama joins Natasha Mitchell and Harvard evolutionary biologist Marc Hauser for a challenging conversation about how much of our behaviour is shaped by the brain, genetics and early life – and how much can be changed through training the mind.
Hauser shares striking research, from toddlers facing the classic “one lolly now or five later” test to studies of genes linked to self-control and reward. He uses these findings to ask whether some people are born with cards so stacked against them that living an ethical life is far harder. The Dalai Lama responds with cautious optimism, suggesting that "through rigorous training and time factor...
I think it can change," while admitting some brain damage may make change "really hopeless, difficult". The discussion takes a sharp turn into the territory of psychopaths: people whose emotional responses are flat yet whose understanding of right and wrong matches everyone else’s. Hauser notes, "They know right from wrong. They just don't care," raising difficult questions about responsibility, justice and the limits of compassion. From there, the group weigh up moral outrage and vengeance.
Hauser argues that "a society that didn't feel moral outrage would never function as a moral society," while the Dalai Lama pushes for secular ethics grounded in our nature as social animals and our deep need for affection. Alan Wallace adds a Buddhist twist, suggesting we can direct fierce intolerance towards destructive mental states rather than the person themselves.
If you're curious about how science and spirituality talk to each other about ethics, justice and human potential, this conversation might leave you asking: how much of your own moral sense do you think is wired in, and how much could you train?
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