Exploring the Science, Philosophy, and Psychology of Good and Evil
What if “good” and “evil” aren’t just human words—but cosmic laws, built into the structure of reality itself?
In this episode of Down the Sado Hole, we dive into one of the oldest and strangest questions in philosophy: Is morality objective or invented?
We explore this timeless debate through the lenses of science, philosophy, and psychology, asking whether moral truths exist independently of us—or whether they’re simply useful stories we tell to keep our species alive and somewhat cooperative.
The Search for a Moral Universe
Philosophers from Plato to Kant imagined morality as a kind of universal geometry—objective, eternal, and discoverable by reason. Plato believed moral truth lived in the same abstract realm as numbers and forms. Kant argued that morality flowed logically from rationality itself.
But modern science complicates that picture. Evolutionary biology suggests that moral behavior—empathy, fairness, even guilt—might be adaptive traits, selected because they help social species thrive. From that view, morality isn’t written into the universe; it’s written into us.
So which is it? Are moral laws as real as gravity, or just as fragile as our stories?
The Science of Good and Evil
Neuroscience shows that our brains light up differently when we judge an act as right or wrong. Psychologists studying moral development, from Piaget to Haidt, have found that our sense of right and wrong shifts across cultures, ages, and situations.
Yet across humanity, some moral instincts appear universal: a sense of fairness, a revulsion at harm, a pull toward compassion. These patterns hint that moral reasoning might have deep biological roots, even if the details are shaped by culture and story.
Meanwhile, physics offers no moral compass at all. The universe doesn’t seem to reward virtue or punish cruelty—it just… is. Entropy doesn’t care about ethics.
When Philosophy Meets Psychology
This episode wrestles with the uneasy truce between moral realism (the idea that moral facts exist) and moral constructivism (that we invent them).
We ask questions like:
- If morality is a human invention, does that make it meaningless—or does it make it ours to refine?
- Can science ever prove that something is truly “good”?
- And what happens to ethics in a universe that’s morally neutral?
Our guests and hosts bring insights from evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, and moral philosophy to explore how we construct meaning in a cosmos that doesn’t hand us an instruction manual.
Why It Matters
Whether morality is discovered or invented changes everything about how we live. If moral truth exists independently of us, then we can strive to align ourselves with it—like astronomers charting the stars. But if morality is something we create, then ethics becomes an art form: a story we’re constantly rewriting together.
Either way, the search itself might be the point. The act of asking what’s right, what’s fair, and what’s worth fighting for may be the most human thing we do.
Tune In
Listen to or watch the full episode — “Good and Evil: Cosmic Law or Human Lie?” — wherever you get your podcasts.
Join the conversation as we explore whether good and evil are timeless truths or shifting human inventions, and what that means for the future of human values.