Reaction to The Moral Instinct by Steven Pinker Essay

Reaction to The Moral Instinct by Steven Pinker - Essay Example This is what Steven Pinker tries to stress in his write-up in the New York Times(January 13, 2008) titled â€Å"The Moral Instinct† with more examples and theories. He in fact favors Borlaug and Bill Gates over Mother Teresa in the choice of admiration and philanthropy. Borlough brought about the Green Revolution which still feeds millions of hungry mouths and Bill Gates aids missions to fight fatal diseases of the developed world. Pinker also contends that while Mother Teresa was backed by hefty donations from all quarters the other two were self motivated individuals expending their own time and effort in the up-liftment of humanity. Pinter is critical of the entire question of morality and claims it to be passed on from one generation to the next and accepted without question because we were taught that way! He cites three predicaments where the choice is between morality and discretion. We discussed the first one at the beginning of this essay. The second example is about the American flag being cut and used to clean the bathroom. No individual with moralistic mindset would ever think of doing such a thing but come to think of from a rational point of view.