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The egocentric teleological bias : how self‑serving morality shapes perceptions of intelligent design
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Preston, Jesse (2018) The egocentric teleological bias : how self‑serving morality shapes perceptions of intelligent design. In: Gray, K. and Graham, J., (eds.) Atlas of moral psychology. The Guilford Press, pp. 352-359. ISBN 9781462541225
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Official URL: https://www.guilford.com/books/Atlas-of-Moral-Psyc...
Abstract
Why are intelligent design arguments so moralized? Egocentric biases foster a false perception of “suspicious serendipity” and so create illusions of intelligent design with self-serving moral judgments. The argument from design is one of the most common proofs offered for the existence of God. Essentially, the argument comes down to an observation of complexity and order in the world, in life, and in our universe and an inference that this is far too much order and complexity to have come about by random chance. Rather, such perfect orchestration implies some invisible hand conducting the orchestra—that is, God. Intelligent design arguments are also highly moralized, in part because of the obvious connection to religious belief. But also, they hinge on an implicit perception of a moral purpose in that design. Here I argue that egocentric biases (centered on the self, humans, earth, and life) are key to creating illusions of intelligent design, by creating a strong sense of “suspicious serendipity”: simultaneously enhancing the perceived unlikeliness and benefit of one’s own personal outcomes.
Item Type: | Book Item | ||||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Psychology | ||||||
Publisher: | The Guilford Press | ||||||
ISBN: | 9781462541225 | ||||||
Book Title: | Atlas of moral psychology | ||||||
Editor: | Gray, K. and Graham, J. | ||||||
Official Date: | 30 January 2018 | ||||||
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Page Range: | pp. 352-359 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
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