Scientific basis of Morality

I have felt that one of the reasons organized religions have their vast appeal is because they present a monopolistic vision of morality that is sadly emaciated in secular thought. I have always thought why there is no scientific research on the underpinning of morality? While there are professional Ethicists, it seemed like there was not much scientific funding for their activities. After all, Ethics is taught as a Philosophical, not as a Scientific subject in schools. However, new research in Neuro science and consiousness may finally be changing that. It can finally fight back against "out of body" and "near death" experiences that are held as "proof" of an afterlife.
And when the physiological activity of the brain ceases, as far as anyone can tell the person's consciousness goes out of existence. Attempts to contact the souls of the dead (a pursuit of serious scientists a century ago) turned up only cheap magic tricks, and near death experiences are not the eyewitness reports of a soul parting company from the body but symptoms of oxygen starvation in the eyes and brain. In September, a team of Swiss neuroscientists reported that they could turn out-of-body experiences on and off by stimulating the part of the brain in which vision and bodily sensations converge.

It is my hope that in the not too distant future, Morality and Ethics will become legitimate subjects for scientific enquiry. Such a development will not undermine the good things about religion, but will minimize the mischief that it can cause.

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