While values cannot be derived solely from science, any modern, credible set of values must be informed by a scientific understanding of human nature.

“so what we do in the book is we inform the question of what ought to be with a scientific understanding and we believe that any credible ought needs to be informed in this way at least in modern times”

Systems of ethics should avoid both the pathology of religious fundamentalism and the pathology of moral relativism.

“there's two things you want to avoid two catastrophes let's say one is the catastrophe that you identified with religious fundamentalism and the other is the catastrophe that's associated with moral relativism”

Moral realism posits that there are objective right and wrong answers to questions of human value and we should work to discover them to improve well-being.

“crucially for me is the claim that I'm a realist I'm a moral realist and what realism means is that it's there that there are right and wrong answers to questions of this kind and and and you can not know what you're missing”