Comments on: Your Cheatin’ Hormone

By: Iain J Coleman

Iain J Coleman — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Theres an interesting question here about what, exactly, is being explained here. On the one hand, people are of course unaware of their current oxytocin levels and fMRI scan patterns, so its interesting that we can do a blood test or a brain scan and predict their choice. On the other hand, theyre well aware of when theyre eeling trusting or disgusted. Those feelings have some biological substrate (its all happening inside your brain, after all) but how much does it add to say People whose brains are showing lots of disgust will reject offers? Theyre showing lots of disgust because theyre disgusted.

It’s explaining some of how the brain works, which is interesting if, like neuroscientists, you’re interested in that kind of thing. More broadly, the possibility of determining something about a person’s emotional state without having to rely on them truthfully describing it to you has, potentially, considerable ramifications.

By: Matthew Yglesias

Matthew Yglesias — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

This is the sort of levels of explanation/ reductionism/ supervenience stuff that the philosophers are good at clearing up. There?s never one around when you need one.Too true. I was actually supposed to have a seminar session where we were going to discuss this topic (well, an analogous one related to electric fish) on Monday, but the professor never showed up (he was jetlagged). But yeah, I would say that this bit about the fMRI is a red herring. They already knew where disgust-brain-activity took place, they already knew that lowball offers disgust people, and they already knew that disgusted people reject offers. Rephrasing this in terms of brain patterns doesn’t seem to add anything.

By: Brad DeLong

Brad DeLong — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

>>Rephrasing this in terms of brain patterns doesn’t seem to add anything.< <

You say this now. But what will you say after you’ve gotten your Ph.D., and the dean’s special assistant has given you your oxytocin shot just before you go in to hear her decision on your next year’s salary?

“That’s wonderful!” is what you’ll say.

“O Brave New World, that has such people in it!”

By: Semi-Daily Journal

Semi-Daily Journal — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Excuse Me, What’s Your Oxytocin Level Today?

I don’t know about you, but in the future I’m only making contracts with people with elevated oxytocin levels… Virginia Postrel writes about those who are beginning to found the subdiscipline of Neuroeconomics: Looking Inside the Brains of the Stingy…

By: Semi-Daily Journal

Semi-Daily Journal — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

O Brave New World!

I wrote: I don’t know about you, but in the future I’m only making contracts with people with elevated oxytocin levels… Virginia Postrel writes about those who are beginning to found the subdiscipline of Neuroeconomics: Looking Inside the Brains of t…