Why Do We Do Good

07/06/2024 9 min

Listen "Why Do We Do Good"

Episode Synopsis

The psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg believed humans developed through stages of moral reasoning in their lives, from doing good because we are told to do good, to doing good for rewards, to doing good to fit into social groups, to doing good because reason impels us. I think, I “do good” for all the reasons Kohlberg identifies, but also because I’m biologically hard wired to do so due to evolutionary pressures. Cooperation is a highly valued personality trait that probably contributes more to our survivability than we give it credit for.
Sources:
Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg
Stephen Post, Director of the Center for Medical Humanities at Stony Brook
UCLA professor Naomi Eisenberger
Robert Ingersoll, 19th century agnostic activist
Sue Brewton discusses Lincoln in this article: https://suebrewton.com/2016/01/31/no-that-is-not-what-abraham-lincoln-said/