Why do we make the moral choices we do? It’s a question that has vexed philosophers for centuries, and one that neuroscience and social science hope to resolve.

As Peter Saalfield explains in the January/February, 2012 issue of Harvard Magazine, “Philosophers have long debated the foundations of moral decision-making. ‘Rationalists’ from Socrates to Immanuel Kant argued that people should rely on intellect when distinguishing right from wrong. Sentimentalists’ like David Hume believed the opposite: emotions such as empathy should guide moral decisions.”

Now, however, Harvard sociologist Joshua Greene proposes a new approach, one that brings both rationality and emotion together in the decision-making process. Dr. Greene refers to his view as “dual-process theory” because he sees what appears to be an equal role for intellect and affections. Each of these, Dr. Greene explains, is a “preset” condition in the brain and comes into play as particular situations demand.

Using various thought experiments involving moral choices, and by observing brain activity during the experiments, Dr. Greene notes that “rationality…cannot function independently of emotion.” The two must work together to process the moral choice. Dr. Greene believes it’s good for us to be aware of this and not to rely exclusively on rationality in moral decision-making. “Our [emotions] are there for a reason,” he explains, “and they do us a lot of good, but they also get us into trouble in situations they weren’t designed for.” That’s where reason has to step in to scrutinize and even override emotions, lest we end up making bad moral judgments.

From a Biblical perspective, Dr. Greene lacks one component and a proper framework and he’ll be right on target with what Christians have known about moral decision-making for centuries.

What governs the mind and the heart as they struggle to process information and emotions leading to moral action? Dr. Greene seems to suggest that the nature of the moral question itself will elicit the final response, whether from our thinking or our feeling. The Scripture teaches that the soul consists of mind, heart, and conscience. The conscience is the repository of owned values, entrenched priorities, and the will. As such it serves as a kind of referee between the mind and the heart, guiding each to work together for proper moral action.

So from a Biblical perspective one needs not only good information and a refined heart, but a proper “set of the saw” in the form of what Paul refers to as a “good conscience.” We are never the product of unconscious responses to external stimuli. Human beings are responsible for their moral choices, which are determined by the health of their souls – heart, mind, and conscience.

But these components of the soul are not the product of brain activity. That they affect the brain, igniting messages that guide the rest of the body to action, is not the question. Thoughts, affections, and values are not merely material process or interactions; they are part of the human soul, that non-material and spiritual essence which makes human beings unique from the animals.

Neuroscience and social science will not be able to discover the soul, since it lies beyond the reach of material science in all its forms. Unbelieving scientists will therefore deny the existence of the soul and seek instead to pin everything about our decision-making on the influence of the environment and the health of our brains. In so doing they must ultimately eliminate anything like “free will” and make us products of environment and physical make-up alone.

Science can never catch up with the Bible in understanding the complex interactions that guide moral decision-making. Nevertheless, Christians can learn from the work of scientists like Dr. Joshua Greene that we can trust the teaching of Scripture, not because science somehow “proves” what the Bible has been saying all along, but because the findings of science tend ever to confirm the Biblical model of how the world works.

Related texts: Matthew 22.34-40; 1 Timothy 1.5

A conversation starter: “What do you think? Are we responsible for our moral decisions? Or are we just the product of brain processes and external stimuli?”

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.