UTILITARIAN UNIVERSALISM: The final paragraph of this article makes me wonder: If we learned that people were more polite, or more conscientious about dental hygiene, after listening to Mozart, would we then say that music exists because it makes us nice and clean?

…I mean, would we say it without feeling gross?

Of course, the particular measurements by which these studies find that “religion” promotes self-control may suggest that we have tamed the lion: I can’t imagine Catherine of Siena browsing the Health section of her favorite magazine for tips on nutrition. And I’m thinking the kind of self-control required to wear a seat belt and the kind of devoted submission required to accept martyrdom are different not merely in degree but in kind. For some people they may even be directly opposed.