How is it that we are capable of transcendent kindness—and unspeakable cruelty? How do we make sense of people’s strongly-held opinions about abortion, gay marriage, affirmative action, and torture? How do evolution, culture, and religion conspire to shape our moral natures? These are among the most important—and most exciting—questions around, and they are the focus of this course. We will explore the modern science of moral belief and moral action, drawing upon disciplines such as cognitive science, neuroscience, economics, and philosophy. We will look at research from the lab, from the community, and from the battlefield; we will discuss babies, monkeys, and psychopaths; we will debate claims about moral differences between men and women, liberals and conservatives, Christians and Muslims. This course will cover prejudice and bigotry, sexuality and purity; punishment, revenge, and forgiveness; and much much more.