Would you believe if I said that magnetism has the potential to alter one's moral perception? Well, an MIT group has just recently demonstrated this by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invase means of delivering localized magnetic pulses to the brain. Specifically, scientists honed in on the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) a portion of the brain that has been known to become active when we make moral judgements. By interfering with the function of neurons in this region, researchers discovered that subjects were not able to accurately infer the harmfulness and morality of a particular situation. For example, one question that was asked in the study was whether or not it was morally permissible for a man to allow his girlfriend to cross a bridge he knows to be unsafe, even if in the end she makes it across safely. Control subjects found the intention to do harm was morally impermissible, while those exposed to TMS largely based their judgment solely on the outcome - that since there was no harm done, the decision to let the girlfriend cross the bridge was of sound moral judgement. So is morality incorruptible? Of course, but who would have thought that something as simple as a magnet could do it.
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