I must confess that I have a peculiar inability to sleep during overseas flights. Instead, I willingly subject myself to the confines of the airborne prison and delve into the world of movies and music from distant lands that I seldom have the chance to explore. Bollywood, Norwegian, Egyptian... You name it.
Being an ardent aficionado of 90s-style courthouse dramas, I swiftly decided to indulge in "The Judge" by Dobkin. The plot felt somewhat familiar, as it follows the journey of a small-town lad who rises to become a sharp-witted big-city lawyer, burdened by a conflicted past that I shall refrain from double-clicking to avoid spoiling it for you. Let it suffice to say that it has all the dimensions one would expect from a proper American drama: daddy issues, illicit affairs, the clash between small-town and big-city mentalities, middle-aged men entangled with teenagers, rekindled romances, and the longing for home. What a drama - you say??
Of particular interest to yours truly is a dialogue between our protagonist and his comrade, which occurs in the most unexpected of places — the restroom. After all, where else do people have deep conversations these days right?
And so, our protagonist utters:
- You know, 90% of the country believe in ghosts?
- Less than a third in evolution?
- 35% can correctly identify Homer Simpson and the fictional town he resides.
- Less than 1% knows the name Thurgood Marshall.
- But, when you put 12 Americans together in a jury and ask for justice.
- Something just south of brilliance happens.
- Often as not, they get it right.
How so?
Warneken et al. studies the development of social and altruistic behavior within infants as young as a mere eighteen months old. Their 2006 publication [1, 2] unveils compelling evidence showcasing how infants, endowed with nascent linguistic or prelinguistic abilities, exhibit altruistic tendencies in aiding others. Remarkably, this inclination persists even when the actors involved do not overtly request assistance from these young subjects.
This would surely perturb psychopaths and devout disciples of Ayn Rand alike. For the rest of us, this might as well be good news. If the researchers' assertions hold true, suggesting that infants possess innate altruistic tendencies and ability to make moral judgements, then it follows that we may be born with an inherent understanding of right and wrong, or perhaps we swiftly learn the complexities of moral and social behavior long before we master the art of speech.
Now let that sink in.
It is obvious that not all of us are destined to be rocket scientists, nor should we aspire to be. Truth be told, we all possess an array of imperfections [3] far outnumbering our moments of brilliance. Our individual knowledge remains deeply confined even if we yearn to expand. Yet, it seems that deep within us lies an innate circuitry to discern if not to learn the moral compass that guides our decisions early in our development. If that is the case it is ok if each and every one of us is stupid in our own unique ways for we still retain the capacity to discern the right from the wrong, the virtuous from the vicious in the society. And that, dear reader, should gift you a humble reason to trust in the collective wisdom of people.