| definition of moral psychology: Evil and Moral Psychology Peter Brian Barry, 2013 This book examines what makes someone an evil person and how evil people are different from merely bad people. Rather than focusing on the problem of evil that occupies philosophers of religion, Barry looks instead to moral psychology-the intersection of ethics and psychology. He provides both a philosophical account of what evil people are like and considers the implications of that account for social, legal, and criminal institutions. He also engages in traditional philosophical reasoning strongly informed by psychological research, especially abnormal and social psychology. In response to the popularity of phrases like the axis of evil and the ease with which politicians and others describe their opponents as evil, Barry sets out to make clear just what it is to be an evil person. |
| definition of moral psychology: What's Wrong with Morality? Charles Daniel Batson, 2016 Most works on moral psychology consider morality an unalloyed good. Drawing primarily on social-psychological theory and research, this book looks at morality as a problem. The problem is that we often fail live up to our own moral standards. Why? |
| definition of moral psychology: How We Hope Adrienne Martin, 2016-05-31 What exactly is hope and how does it influence our decisions? In How We Hope, Adrienne Martin presents a novel account of hope, the motivational resources it presupposes, and its function in our practical lives. She contends that hoping for an outcome means treating certain feelings, plans, and imaginings as justified, and that hope thereby involves sophisticated reflective and conceptual capacities. Martin develops this original perspective on hope--what she calls the incorporation analysis--in contrast to the two dominant philosophical conceptions of hope: the orthodox definition, where hoping for an outcome is simply desiring it while thinking it possible, and agent-centered views, where hoping for an outcome is setting oneself to pursue it. In exploring how hope influences our decisions, she establishes that it is not always a positive motivational force and can render us complacent. She also examines the relationship between hope and faith, both religious and secular, and identifies a previously unnoted form of hope: normative or interpersonal hope. When we place normative hope in people, we relate to them as responsible agents and aspire for them to overcome challenges arising from situation or character. Demonstrating that hope merits rigorous philosophical investigation, both in its own right and in virtue of what it reveals about the nature of human emotion and motivation, How We Hope offers an original, sustained look at a largely neglected topic in philosophy. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Righteous Mind Jonathan Haidt, 2013-02-12 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The acclaimed social psychologist challenges conventional thinking about morality, politics, and religion in a way that speaks to conservatives and liberals alike—a “landmark contribution to humanity’s understanding of itself” (The New York Times Book Review). Drawing on his twenty-five years of groundbreaking research on moral psychology, Jonathan Haidt shows how moral judgments arise not from reason but from gut feelings. He shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and he shows why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns. In this subtle yet accessible book, Haidt gives you the key to understanding the miracle of human cooperation, as well as the curse of our eternal divisions and conflicts. If you’re ready to trade in anger for understanding, read The Righteous Mind. |
| definition of moral psychology: Personality, Identity, and Character Darcia Narváez, Daniel K. Lapsley, 2009-06-29 This edited volume features cutting-edge work in moral psychology by pre-eminent scholars in moral self-identity, moral character, and moral personality. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Imagination Mark Johnson, 2014-12-10 Using path-breaking discoveries of cognitive science, Mark Johnson argues that humans are fundamentally imaginative moral animals, challenging the view that morality is simply a system of universal laws dictated by reason. According to the Western moral tradition, we make ethical decisions by applying universal laws to concrete situations. But Johnson shows how research in cognitive science undermines this view and reveals that imagination has an essential role in ethical deliberation. Expanding his innovative studies of human reason in Metaphors We Live By and The Body in the Mind, Johnson provides the tools for more practical, realistic, and constructive moral reflection. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Constitution of Agency Christine Marion Korsgaard, 2014-05-14 Christine M. Korsgaard is one of today's leading moral philosophers: this volume collects ten influential papers by her on practical reason and moral psychology. Korsgaard draws on the work of important figures in the history of philosophy such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Hume, showing how their ideas can inform the solution of contemporary and traditional philosophical problems, such as the foundations of morality and practical reason, the nature of agency, and the role of the emotions in action. In Part 1, The Principles of Practical Reason, Korsgaard defends the view that the principles of practical reason are constitutive principles of action. By governing our actions in accordance with Kant's categorical imperative and the principle of instrumental reason, she argues, we take control of our own movements and so render ourselves active, self-determining beings. She criticizes rival attempts to give a normative foundation to the principles of practical reason, challenges the claims of the principle of maximizing one's own interests to be a rational principle, and argues for some deep continuities between Plato's account of the connection between justice and agency and Kant's account of the connection between autonomy and agency. In Part II, Moral Virtue and Moral Psychology, Korsgaard takes up the question of the role of our more passive or receptive faculties--our emotions and responses --in constituting our agency. She sketches a reading of the Nicomachean Ethics, based on the idea that our emotions can serve as perceptions of good and evil, and argues that this view of the emotions is at the root of the apparent differences between Aristotle and Kant's accounts of morality. She argues that in fact, Aristotle and Kant share a distinctive view about the locus of moral value and the nature of human choice that, among other things, gives them account of what it means to act rationally that is superior to other accounts. In Part III, Other Reflections, Korsgaard takes up question how we come to view one another as moral agents in Hume's philosophy. She examines the possible clash between the agency of the state and that of the individual that led to Kant's paradoxical views about revolution. And finally, she discusses her methodology in an account of what it means to be a constructivist moral philosopher. The essays are united by an introduction in which Korsgaard explains their connections to each other and to her current work. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Moral Self Gil G. Noam, Thomas E. Wren, 1993 This follow-up to The Moral Domain carries forward the exploration of new ways of modeling moral behavior. This follow-up to The Moral Domain carries forward the exploration of new ways of modeling moral behavior. Whereas the first volume emphasized the work of Lawrence Kohlberg and the tradition of cognitive development, The Moral Self presents a paradigm that also incorporates noncognitive structures of selfhood. The concerns of the sixteen essays include the diversity of moral outlooks, the dynamics of creating a moral self, cognitive and noncognitive prerequisites of the psychological-development of autonomy and moral competence, and motivation and moral personality. Contributors and ContentPart I, Conceptual Foundations: Harry Frankfurt, Amélie Oksenberg Rorty, Ernst Tugendhat, Ernest S. Wolf, Thomas Wren - Part II, Building a New Paradigm: Augusto Blasi, Anne Colby, William Damon, Helen Haste, Mordecai Nisan, Gil G. Noam, Larry Nucci, John Lee - Part III, Empirical Investigation: Monika Keller, Wolfgang Edelstein, Lothar Krappmann, Leo Montada, Gertrud Nunner-Winkler, Ervin Staub |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Psychology, Volume 5 Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Christian B. Miller, 2017-03-24 Groundbreaking essays and commentaries on the ways that recent findings in psychology and neuroscience illuminate virtue and character and related issues in philosophy. Philosophers have discussed virtue and character since Socrates, but many traditional views have been challenged by recent findings in psychology and neuroscience. This fifth volume of Moral Psychology grows out of this new wave of interdisciplinary work on virtue, vice, and character. It offers essays, commentaries, and replies by leading philosophers and scientists who explain and use empirical findings from psychology and neuroscience to illuminate virtue and character and related issues in moral philosophy. The contributors discuss such topics as eliminativist and situationist challenges to character; investigate the conceptual and empirical foundations of self-control, honesty, humility, and compassion; and consider whether the virtues contribute to well-being. Contributors Karl Aquino, Jason Baehr, C. Daniel Batson, Lorraine L. Besser, C. Daryl Cameron, Tanya L. Chartrand, M. J. Crockett, Bella DePaulo, Korrina A. Duffy, William Fleeson, Andrea L. Glenn, Charles Goodman, Geoffrey P. Goodwin, George Graham, June Gruber, Thomas Hurka, Eranda Jayawickreme, Andreas Kappes, Kristján Kristjánsson, Daniel Lapsley, Neil Levy, E.J. Masicampo, Joshua May, Christian B. Miller, M. A. Montgomery, Thomas Nadelhoffer, Eddy Nahmias, Hanna Pickard, Katie Rapier, Raul Saucedo, Shannon W. Schrader, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Nancy E. Snow, Gopal Sreenivasan, Chandra Sripada, June P. Tangney, Valerie Tiberius, Simine Vazire, Jennifer Cole Wright |
| definition of moral psychology: Morality for Humans Mark Johnson, 2015-09-04 “A welcome renewal and defense of John Dewey's ethical naturalism, which Johnson claims is the only morality ‘fit for actual human beings.’” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews What is the difference between right and wrong? This is no easy question to answer, yet we constantly try to make it so, frequently appealing to absolutes, whether drawn from God, universal reason, or societal authority. Combining cognitive science with a pragmatist philosophical framework, Mark Johnson argues that appealing solely to absolute principles is not only scientifically unsound but even morally suspect. He shows that the standards for the kinds of people we should be and how we should treat one another are frequently subject to change. Taking context into consideration, he offers a nuanced, naturalistic view of ethics that sees us creatively adapt our standards according to given needs, emerging problems, and social interactions. Ethical naturalism is not just a revamped form of relativism. Indeed, Johnson attempts to overcome the absolutist-versus-relativist impasse that has been one of the most intractable problems in the history of philosophy. Much of our moral thought, he shows, is automatic and intuitive, gut feelings that we attempt to justify with rational analysis and argument. However, good moral deliberation is not limited to intuitive judgments supported after the fact by reasoning. Johnson points out a crucial third element: we imagine how our decisions will play out, how we or the world would change with each action we might take. Plumbing this imaginative dimension of moral reasoning, he provides a psychologically sophisticated view of moral problem solving, one perfectly suited for the embodied, culturally embedded, and ever-developing human creatures that we are. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Psychology Mark Alfano, 2016-09-06 Moral psychology is the systematic inquiry into how morality works, when it does work, and breaks down when it doesn't work. In this comprehensive new textbook, Mark Alfano outlines the five central concepts in the study of moral psychology: agency, patiency, sociality, temporality, and reflexivity. Subsequent chapters each assess a key area of research, which Alfano relates both to the five central concepts and to empirical findings. He then draws out the philosophical implications of those findings before suggesting future directions for research. One of Alfano's guiding themes is that moral philosophy without psychological content is empty, whereas psychological investigation without philosophical insight is blind. He advocates and demonstrates a holistic vision that pictures moral psychology as a project of collaborative inquiry into the descriptive and normative aspects of the human condition. Featuring a glossary of technical terms, further reading sections and chapter-by-chapter study questions, this rich, systematic, and accessible introduction to moral psychology will be suitable for both undergraduates and researchers in philosophy, psychology and related fields. |
| definition of moral psychology: Hermeneutic Moral Realism in Psychology Brent D. Slife, Stephen Yanchar, 2019-02-12 Traditional sources of morality—philosophical ethics, religious standards, and cultural values—are being questioned at a time when we most need morality’s direction. Research shows that though moral direction is vital to our identities, happiness, productivity and relationships, there is a decline in its development and use, especially among younger adults. This book argues that hermeneutic moral realism is the best hope for meeting the twenty-first century challenges of scientism, individualism, and postmodernism. In addition to providing a thorough understanding of moral realism, the volume also takes preliminary steps toward its application in important practical settings, including research, psychotherapy, politics, and publishing. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Oxford Handbook of the Human Essence Martijn van Zomeren, John F. Dovidio, 2018 Oxford Handbooks offer authoritative and up-to-date reviews of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned chapters from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates, as well as a foundation for future research. Oxford Handbooks provide scholars and graduate students with compelling new perspective upon a wide range of subjects in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Book jacket. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Variables of Moral Capacity David C. Thomasma, David N. Weisstub, 2004-09-20 Moral capacity is an important feature of what it means to be human. In this volume, the contributors have taken on the daunting task of trying to distinguish between legal and moral capacity. This distinction is difficult at times for clinicians, philosophers and legal scholars alike. Part of the challenge of defining moral capacity lies in the difficulty of adequately categorizing it. For this reason, the editors have chosen to divide the book into three parts. The first looks at the concepts involved in the discussion of moral capacity; the second considers the role of moral capacity in the lives of professionals; and the final part reflects on case studies of moral capacity or incapacity illustrating the challenge that moral capacity presents - its definition lying between two seemingly incommensurable models, those of the threshold and continuum. This volume takes a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, and ties the disciplines of medicine, philosophy and law into the health context. It will be of interest to medical health professionals as well as researchers working in the areas of philosophy and law. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Repair Margaret Urban Walker, 2006-09-18 Moral Repair examines the ethics and moral psychology of responses to wrongdoing. Explaining the emotional bonds and normative expectations that keep human beings responsive to moral standards and responsible to each other, Margaret Urban Walker uses realistic examples of both personal betrayal and political violence to analyze how moral bonds are damaged by serious wrongs and what must be done to repair the damage. Focusing on victims of wrong, their right to validation, and their sense of justice, Walker presents a unified and detailed philosophical account of hope, trust, resentment, forgiveness, and making amends - the emotions and practices that sustain moral relations. Moral Repair joins a multidisciplinary literature concerned with transitional and restorative justice, reparations, and restoring individual dignity and mutual trust in the wake of serious wrongs. |
| definition of moral psychology: Atlas of Moral Psychology Kurt Gray, Jesse Graham, 2018-01-23 This comprehensive and cutting-edge volume maps out the terrain of moral psychology, a dynamic and evolving area of research. In 57 concise chapters, leading authorities and up-and-coming scholars explore fundamental issues and current controversies. The volume systematically reviews the empirical evidence base and presents influential theories of moral judgment and behavior. It is organized around the key questions that must be addressed for a complete understanding of the moral mind. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Moral Psychology of Anger Myisha Cherry, Owen Flanagan, 2017-12-21 The Moral Psychology of Anger is the first comprehensive study of the moral psychology of anger from a philosophical perspective. In light of the recent revival of interest in emotions in philosophy and the current social and political interest in anger, this collection provides an inclusive view of anger from a variety of philosophical perspectives. The authors explore the nature of anger, explain its resilience in our emotional lives and normative frameworks, and examine what inhibits and encourages thoughts, feelings, and expressions of anger. The volume also examines rage, anger’s cousin, and examines in what ways rage is a moral emotion, what black rage is and how it is policed in our society; how berserker rage is limited and problematic for the contemporary military; and how defenders of anger respond to classical and contemporary arguments that expressing anger is always destructive and immoral. This volume provides arguments for and against the value of anger in our ethical lives and in politics through a combination of empirical psychological and philosophical methods. This authors approach these questions and aims from a historical, phenomenological, empirical, feminist, political, and critical-theoretic perspective. |
| definition of moral psychology: International Norms, Moral Psychology, and Neuroscience Richard Price, Kathryn Sikkink, 2021-08-19 Research on international norms has yet to answer satisfactorily some of our own most important questions about the origins of norms and the conditions under which some norms win out over others. The authors argue that international relations (IR) theorists should engage more with research in moral psychology and neuroscience to advance theories of norm emergence and resonance. This Element first provides an overview of six areas of research in neuroscience and moral psychology that hold particular promise for norms theorists and international relations theory more generally. It next surveys existing literature in IR to see how literature from moral psychology is already being put to use, and then recommends a research agenda for norms researchers engaging with this literature. The authors do not believe that this exchange should be a one-way street, however, and they discuss various ways in which the IR literature on norms may be of interest and of use to moral psychologists, and of use to advocacy communities. |
| definition of moral psychology: Grandstanding Justin Tosi, Brandon Warmke, 2020 Why does talk about politics and moral issues tend to get so ugly, heated, and personal? So much public discussion goes awry because people are using it for the wrong reasons. Too often, especially online, people engage in moral grandstanding--they use moral talk to impress others by showing them they have the right views. Tosi and Warmke show why people behave this way, why it's wrong, and what we can do about it. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Psychology Thomas Nadelhoffer, Eddy Nahmias, Shaun Nichols, 2010-10-18 Moral Psychology: Historical and Contemporary Readings is the first book to bring together the most significant contemporary and historical works on the topic from both philosophy and psychology. Provides a comprehensive introduction to moral psychology, which is the study of psychological mechanisms and processes underlying ethics and morality Unique in bringing together contemporary texts by philosophers, psychologists and other cognitive scientists with foundational works from both philosophy and psychology Approaches moral psychology from an empirically informed perspective Explores a wide range of topics from passion and altruism to virtue and responsibility Editorial introductions to each section explain the background of and connections between the selections |
| definition of moral psychology: Elements of Moral Cognition John Mikhail, 2011-06-13 John Mikhail explores whether moral psychology is usefully modelled on aspects of Universal Grammar. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Tribes Joshua Greene, 2014-12-30 “Surprising and remarkable…Toggling between big ideas, technical details, and his personal intellectual journey, Greene writes a thesis suitable to both airplane reading and PhD seminars.”—The Boston Globe Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world’s tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground. A grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, Moral Tribes reveals the underlying causes of modern conflict and lights the way forward. Greene compares the human brain to a dual-mode camera, with point-and-shoot automatic settings (“portrait,” “landscape”) as well as a manual mode. Our point-and-shoot settings are our emotions—efficient, automated programs honed by evolution, culture, and personal experience. The brain’s manual mode is its capacity for deliberate reasoning, which makes our thinking flexible. Point-and-shoot emotions make us social animals, turning Me into Us. But they also make us tribal animals, turning Us against Them. Our tribal emotions make us fight—sometimes with bombs, sometimes with words—often with life-and-death stakes. A major achievement from a rising star in a new scientific field, Moral Tribes will refashion your deepest beliefs about how moral thinking works and how it can work better. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Methods of Ethics Henry Sidgwick, 1874 |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Psychology Benjamin G. Voyer, Tor Tarantola, 2017-12-09 This fascinating and timely volume explores current thinking on vital topics in moral psychology, spanning the diverse disciplines that contribute to the field. Academics from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, anthropology, philosophy, and political science address ongoing and emerging questions aimed at understanding the thought processes and behaviors that underlie our moral codes—and our transgressions. Cross-cutting themes speak to individual, interpersonal, and collective morality in such areas as the development of ethical behavior, responses to violations of rules, moral judgments in the larger discourse, and universal versus specific norms. This wide-angle perspective also highlights the implications of moral psychology research for policy and justice, with cogent viewpoints from: · Philosophy: empiricism and normative questions, moral relativism. · Evolutionary biology: theories of how altruism and moral behavior evolved. · Anthropology: common moral values seen in ethnographies from different countries. · Cognitive and neural sciences: computational models of moral systems and decision-making. · Political science: politics, governance, and moral values in the public sphere. · Advice on moral psychology research—and thoughts about its future—from prominent scholars. With the goal of providing a truly multidisciplinary forum for moral psychology, this volume is sure to spark conversations across disciplines and advance the field as a whole. Sampling the breadth and depth of an equally expansive and transformative field, Moral Psychology: A Multidisciplinary Guide will find an engaged audience among psychologists, philosophers, evolutionary biologists, anthropologists, political scientists, neuroscientists, lawyers, and policymakers, as well as a more general audience interested in better understanding the complexity of moral psychology research. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Social Psychology of Morality Mario Mikulincer, Phillip R. Shaver, 2012 Humans are universally concerned with good and evil, although one person's evil can be another person's good. How do individuals arrive at decisions about what is right and what is wrong? And how are these decisions influenced by psychological, social, and cultural forces? Such questions form the foundation of the field of moral psychology. In trying to understand moral behavior, researchers historically adopted a cognitive-rationalistic approach that emphasized reasoning and reflection. However, a new generation of investigators has become intrigued by the role of emotional, unconscious, and intra- and interpersonal processes. Their explorations are presented in this third addition to the Herzliya Series on Personality and Social Psychology. The contributors to this volume begin by presenting basic issues and controversies in the study of morality; subsequent chapters explore the psychological processes involved, such as the cognitive mechanisms and motives underlying immoral behavior and moral hypocrisy. Later chapters discuss personality, developmental, and clinical aspects of morality as well as societal aspects of good and evil, including the implications of moral thinking for large-scale violence and genocide. The wide-ranging findings and discussions presented in this volume make this work a provocative and engaging resource for social psychologists and other scholars concerned with moral judgments and both moral and immoral behavior. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Development of Social Knowledge Elliot Turiel, 1983-04-29 Elliot Turiel's work focuses on the development of moral judgement in children and adolescents and, more generally, on their evolving understanding of the conventions of social systems. This study will be of interest to a wide range of researchers and students in child development and education. |
| definition of moral psychology: Common Morality Bernard Gert, 2004-08-19 Distinguished philosopher Bernard Gert presents a clear and concise introduction to what he calls common morality--the moral system that most thoughtful people implicitly use when making everyday, common sense moral decisions and judgments. Common Morality is useful in that--while not resolving every disagreement on controversial issues--it is able to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable answers to moral problems. |
| definition of moral psychology: An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals David Hume, 1907 |
| definition of moral psychology: The Power of Ideals William Damon, Anne Colby, 2015-04-03 Cynicism often seems a smarter choice than idealism. There are reasons for this. Politicians have disappointed us time and again; trusted institutions have proven to be self-serving and corrupt; hopes for lasting world peace repeatedly have been dashed; and social inequities persist and increase, unabated by even the grandest of charitable efforts. It is now considered foolish to think that people can be counted on to rise above their narrow self-interests to serve the broader good, or to tell the truth if it does not reflect well on the self. Supporting this bleak view of the human condition is a moral psychology that has taken increasingly cynical turns in recent years. Famous studies have shown that we have an almost unlimited potential for cruelty when placed in the wrong situations. The Power of Ideals presents a different vision, supported by a different kind of evidence. It examines the lives and work of six 20th century moral leaders who pursued moral causes ranging from world peace to social justice and human rights. Using these six cases to illustrate how people can make choices guided by their moral convictions, rather than by base emotion or social pressures, authors William Damon and Anne Colby explore the workings of three virtues: inner truthfulness, humility, and faith. Through their portrayal of the noble lives of moral leaders, the authors argue that all of us--with ordinary lives--can exercise control over important life decisions and pursue ideals that we believe in. |
| definition of moral psychology: Atlas of Moral Psychology Kurt Gray, Jesse Graham, 2019-11-15 This comprehensive and cutting-edge volume maps out the terrain of moral psychology, a dynamic and evolving area of research. In 57 concise chapters, leading authorities and up-and-coming scholars explore fundamental issues and current controversies. The volume systematically reviews the empirical evidence base and presents influential theories of moral judgment and behavior. It is organized around the key questions that must be addressed for a complete understanding of the moral mind. |
| definition of moral psychology: Lack of Character John M. Doris, 2002-08-15 This is a provocative contribution to contemporary ethical theory challenging foundational conceptions of character. |
| definition of moral psychology: Just Babies Paul Bloom, 2014-11-11 A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society—and especially parents—to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on groundbreaking research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice. Still, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically. We are naturally hostile to strangers, prone to parochialism and bigotry. Bringing together insights from psychology, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Bloom explores how we have come to surpass these limitations. Along the way, he examines the morality of chimpanzees, violent psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and explores our often puzzling moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race. In his analysis of the morality of children and adults, Bloom rejects the fashionable view that our moral decisions are driven mainly by gut feelings and unconscious biases. Just as reason has driven our great scientific discoveries, he argues, it is reason and deliberation that makes possible our moral discoveries, such as the wrongness of slavery. Ultimately, it is through our imagination, our compassion, and our uniquely human capacity for rational thought that we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we were born with, becoming more than just babies. Paul Bloom has a gift for bringing abstract ideas to life, moving seamlessly from Darwin, Herodotus, and Adam Smith to The Princess Bride, Hannibal Lecter, and Louis C.K. Vivid, witty, and intellectually probing, Just Babies offers a radical new perspective on our moral lives. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Definition of Morality G. Wallace, A. D. M. Walker, 2020-07-20 Originally published in 1970, the papers in this volume discuss the essential and defining characteristics of morality and moral issues and examine how moral views differ from political views, moral beliefs from religious beliefs, and moral judgements from aesthetic judgements. Some of the chapters discuss problems of method and shed light on the complex conditions which any successful definition of morality must satisfy. Taken collectively, these papers reflect he wide variety of approaches adopted by contemporary philosophers. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Happiness Hypothesis Jonathan Haidt, 2006-12-26 The most brilliant and lucid analysis of virtue and well-being in the entire literature of positive psychology. For the reader who seeks to understand happiness, my advice is: Begin with Haidt. —Martin E.P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness The Happiness Hypothesis is a book about ten Great Ideas. Each chapter is an attempt to savor one idea that has been discovered by several of the world's civilizations—to question it in light of what we now know from scientific research, and to extract from it the lessons that still apply to our modern lives and illuminate the causes of human flourishing. Award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows how a deeper understanding of the world's philosophical wisdom and its enduring maxims—like do unto others as you would have others do unto you, or what doesn't kill you makes you stronger—can enrich and transform our lives. |
| definition of moral psychology: Emotions, Values, and the Law John Deigh, 2011 Emotions, Values, and the Law brings together ten of John Deigh's essays written over the past fifteen years. In the first five essays, Deigh ask questions about the nature of emotions and the relation of evaluative judgment to the intentionality of emotions, and critically examines the cognitivist theories of emotion that have dominated philosophy and psychology over the past thirty years. A central criticism of these theories is that they do not satisfactorily account for the emotions of babies or animals other than human beings. Drawing on this criticism, Deigh develops an alternative theory of the intentionality of emotions on which the education of emotions explains how human emotions, which innately contain no evaluative thought, come to have evaluative judgments as their principal cognitive component. The second group of five essays challenge the idea of the voluntary as essential to understanding moral responsibility, moral commitment, political obligation, and other moral and political phenomena that have traditionally been thought to depend on people's will. Each of these studies focuses on a different aspect of our common moral and political life and shows, contrary to conventional opinion, that it does not depend on voluntary action or the exercise of a will constituted solely by rational thought. Together, the essays in this collection represent an effort to shift our understanding of the phenomena traditionally studied in moral and political philosophy from that of their being products of reason and will, operating independently of feeling and sentiment to that of their being manifestations of the work of emotion. Deigh's writing is clear and precise, his arguments are strong, and he uses a wide range of real world examples that give his essays a vibrant and very readable character. - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews I believe that Deigh is as clear-headed and insightful a philosopher as is currently at work today in the areas of moral, political, and legal philosophy and moral psychology, and I believe these essays beautifully demonstrate his many virtues. - Herbert Morris, University of California, Low Angeles Law School [John Deigh] has acquired a very good knowledge of a field which he has very much made his own. No one writes better or thinks more productively on that area of thought where the theory of the emotions, psychoanalysis, value theory, and the theory of law intersect. And if we closely connect the name Deigh with this particular concatenation of topics, I believe that very soon there will be a number of voices clamoring to be heard in this area. - Richard Wollheim, University of California, Berkeley |
| definition of moral psychology: The Mind Club Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray, 2017-03-21 “Compelling, and so beautifully written…’The Mind Club’ deftly brings the most up-to-date research about other minds to readers of all backgrounds. It may cause you to think differently about crime and punishment, about business transactions and health care, and even about the upcoming elections. Things might just start looking up.”–The Wall Street Journal From dogs to gods, the science of understanding mysterious minds—including your own. Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the mind club. It’s easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of mind do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds—while incredibly important—are a matter of perception. Their research opens a trove of new findings, with insights into human behavior that are fascinating, frightening and funny. The Mind Club explains why we love some animals and eat others, why people debate the existence of God so intensely, how good people can be so cruel, and why robots make such poor lovers. By investigating the mind perception of extraordinary targets—animals, machines, comatose people, god—Wegner and Gray explain what it means to have a mind, and why it matters so much. Fusing cutting-edge research and personal anecdotes, The Mind Club explores the moral dimensions of mind perception with wit and compassion, revealing the surprisingly simple basis for what compels us to love and hate, to harm and to protect. |
| definition of moral psychology: The Moral Landscape Sam Harris, 2011-09-13 Sam Harris dismantles the most common justification for religious faith--that a moral system cannot be based on science. |
| definition of moral psychology: Nationalism and the Moral Psychology of Community Bernard Yack, 2012-04-06 Nationalism is one of modern history’s great surprises. How is it that the nation, a relatively old form of community, has risen to such prominence in an era so strongly identified with the individual? Bernard Yack argues that it is the inadequacy of our understanding of community—and especially the moral psychology that animates it—that has made this question so difficult to answer. Yack develops a broader and more flexible theory of community and shows how to use it in the study of nations and nationalism. What makes nationalism such a powerful and morally problematic force in our lives is the interplay of old feelings of communal loyalty and relatively new beliefs about popular sovereignty. By uncovering this fraught relationship, Yack moves our understanding of nationalism beyond the oft-rehearsed debate between primordialists and modernists, those who exaggerate our loss of individuality and those who underestimate the depth of communal attachments. A brilliant and compelling book, Nationalism and the Moral Psychology of Community sets out a revisionist conception of nationalism that cannot be ignored. |
| definition of moral psychology: Virtues and Vices in Positive Psychology Kristján Kristjánsson, 2013-09-23 Positive psychology is one of the biggest growth industries in the discipline of psychology. At the present time, the subfield of 'positive education' seems poised to take the world of education and teacher training by storm. In this first book-length philosophical study of positive psychology, Professor Kristján Kristjánsson subjects positive psychology's recent inroads into virtue theory and virtue education to sustained conceptual and moral scrutiny. Professor Kristjánsson's interdisciplinary perspective constructively integrates insights, evidence and considerations from social science and philosophy in a way that is easily accessible to the general reader. He offers an extended critique of positive psychology generally and 'positive education' in particular, exploring the philosophical assumptions, underpinnings and implications of these academic trends in detail. This provocative book will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge research on positive psychology and on the virtues that lie at the intersection of psychology, philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, education, and daily life. |
| definition of moral psychology: Moral Psychology Valerie Tiberius, 2014-05-30 This is the first philosophy textbook in moral psychology, introducing students to a range of philosophical topics and debates such as: What is moral motivation? Do reasons for action always depend on desires? Is emotion or reason at the heart of moral judgment? Under what conditions are people morally responsible? Are there self-interested reasons for people to be moral? Moral Psychology: A Contemporary Introduction presents research by philosophers and psychologists on these topics, and addresses the overarching question of how empirical research is (or is not) relevant to philosophical inquiry. |
The Psychology of Morality - Grand Valley State University
Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey, dsunar@bilgi.edu.tr Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc See more
The Psychology of Morality: A Review and Analysis of …
We review empirical research on (social) psychology of morality to identify which issues and relations are well documented by existing data and which areas of inquiry are in need of further …
Morality Development and Its Influence on Emotion, …
We examine the de-velopment of morality by considering evidence for biological and social in-fluences. We review Western morality theories and research techniques and include the …
Chapter 1 Modern Moral Psychology: A Guide to the Terrain
adjacent fields, moral psychology has examined the cognitive, social, and cultural mechanisms that serve moral judgment and decision making, including emotions, norms, and values, as …
The Self-Importance of Moral Identity - Dr. Americus Reed, II
Dec 23, 2019 · Moral identity has been described as one kind of self-regulatory mechanism that motivates moral action (e.g., Blasi, 1984; Damon & Hart, 1992; Erikson, 1964; Hart, Atkins, & …
Phil 137: Moral Psychology - Philosophy
This course will examine a number of fundamental issues in moral psychology. As you will learn, moral psychology isn’t really about ethics per se (the theory of what is morally correct). It’s also …
Moral Hypocrisy, Moral Inconsistency, - Stanford University
Distinguishing Moral Hypocrisy and Moral Inconsistency . Hypocrisy is often defined in social psychology as not “practicing what you preach” (e.g., Stone & Fernandez, 2008), “saying one …
MORAL PSYCHOLOGY - Cambridge University Press
It explores what moral psychology is, whether we are always motivated by self-interest, what good character looks like and whether anyone has it, whether moral judgments always motivate us …
Morality - New York University
ABSTRACT—Moral psychology is a rapidly growing field with two principle lineages. The main line began with Jean Piaget and includes developmental psychologists who have studied the …
AnnualReviewofPsychology MoralJudgments - Michigan State …
Understanding moral cognition requires understanding how these kinds of moral judgments both differ from one another and relate to other phenomena, such as norms, emotions, and …
Motivation and Morality: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Introduction: What Is Moral Motivation, and Why Does It Matter? What Are Norms, and How Is Norm Compliance Regulated? 3. Cultural Norms in Moral Motivation. II. PSYCHOLOGICAL …
The Social Psychology of Morality - APA PsycNet
The social psychology of morality : exploring the causes of good and evil / edited by Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Ethics. 2. Social …
The psychology of moral reasoning - Cambridge University …
Psychologists have proposed various theories of moral reasoning, including those based on Piaget’s “genetic epistemology” (see, e.g., Piaget, 1965/1932; Kohlberg, 1984). However, three …
Moral Foundations Theory: Background, Review, and …
Moral Foundations Theory is a descriptive theory about the diverse contents of moral psychology, particularly moral judgment. It contends that human moral judgment (a) is
Moral Identity and the Experience of Moral Elevation in …
Moral identity has been defined as the degree to which a person’s moral character is experienced as a central part of his or her overall self-concept (Aquino & Reed, 2002; Blasi, 1984).
Moral Management & Ethical Leadership
“aspirational goals to guide psychologists toward the highest ideals of psychology.” Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
Malle inpress-a Moral Judgment - Brown
Research on morality has increased rapidly over the past 10 years. At the center of this work are moral judgments—evaluative judgments that a perceiver makes in response to a moral norm …
WHAT IS MORAL LANGUAGE? - media.mola-lab.org
First, morality is identifiable and measur-able across human languages. Second, there exists a meaningful link between moral lan-guage and moral cognition, behavior, and/ or emotion. …
Mapping the Moral Domain - New York University
Jan 17, 2011 · Moral systems are interlocking sets of values, virtues, norms, prac- tices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms that work together to …
Moral Foundations Theory Introduction Synonyms Definition
Definition Moral foundations theory is a descriptive theory about the diverse contents of moral psychology, particularly moral judgment. It contends that human moral judgment (a) is primarily …
The Psychology of Morality - Grand Valley State University
There is no single agreed-upon definition for the term “moral” in the psychological literature. However, as a practical point of departure, let us make use of an adapted version of a …
The Psychology of Morality: A Review and Analysis of …
We review empirical research on (social) psychology of morality to identify which issues and relations are well documented by existing data and which areas of inquiry are in need of …
Morality Development and Its Influence on Emotion, …
We examine the de-velopment of morality by considering evidence for biological and social in-fluences. We review Western morality theories and research techniques and include the …
Chapter 1 Modern Moral Psychology: A Guide to the Terrain
adjacent fields, moral psychology has examined the cognitive, social, and cultural mechanisms that serve moral judgment and decision making, including emotions, norms, and values, as …
The Self-Importance of Moral Identity - Dr. Americus Reed, II
Dec 23, 2019 · Moral identity has been described as one kind of self-regulatory mechanism that motivates moral action (e.g., Blasi, 1984; Damon & Hart, 1992; Erikson, 1964; Hart, Atkins, & …
Phil 137: Moral Psychology - Philosophy
This course will examine a number of fundamental issues in moral psychology. As you will learn, moral psychology isn’t really about ethics per se (the theory of what is morally correct). It’s …
Moral Hypocrisy, Moral Inconsistency, - Stanford University
Distinguishing Moral Hypocrisy and Moral Inconsistency . Hypocrisy is often defined in social psychology as not “practicing what you preach” (e.g., Stone & Fernandez, 2008), “saying one …
MORAL PSYCHOLOGY - Cambridge University Press
It explores what moral psychology is, whether we are always motivated by self-interest, what good character looks like and whether anyone has it, whether moral judgments always motivate us …
Morality - New York University
ABSTRACT—Moral psychology is a rapidly growing field with two principle lineages. The main line began with Jean Piaget and includes developmental psychologists who have studied the …
AnnualReviewofPsychology MoralJudgments - Michigan State …
Understanding moral cognition requires understanding how these kinds of moral judgments both differ from one another and relate to other phenomena, such as norms, emotions, and …
Motivation and Morality: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Introduction: What Is Moral Motivation, and Why Does It Matter? What Are Norms, and How Is Norm Compliance Regulated? 3. Cultural Norms in Moral Motivation. II. PSYCHOLOGICAL …
The Social Psychology of Morality - APA PsycNet
The social psychology of morality : exploring the causes of good and evil / edited by Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Ethics. 2. Social …
The psychology of moral reasoning - Cambridge University …
Psychologists have proposed various theories of moral reasoning, including those based on Piaget’s “genetic epistemology” (see, e.g., Piaget, 1965/1932; Kohlberg, 1984). However, …
Moral Foundations Theory: Background, Review, and …
Moral Foundations Theory is a descriptive theory about the diverse contents of moral psychology, particularly moral judgment. It contends that human moral judgment (a) is
Moral Identity and the Experience of Moral Elevation in …
Moral identity has been defined as the degree to which a person’s moral character is experienced as a central part of his or her overall self-concept (Aquino & Reed, 2002; Blasi, 1984).
Moral Management & Ethical Leadership
“aspirational goals to guide psychologists toward the highest ideals of psychology.” Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
Malle inpress-a Moral Judgment - Brown
Research on morality has increased rapidly over the past 10 years. At the center of this work are moral judgments—evaluative judgments that a perceiver makes in response to a moral norm …
WHAT IS MORAL LANGUAGE? - media.mola-lab.org
First, morality is identifiable and measur-able across human languages. Second, there exists a meaningful link between moral lan-guage and moral cognition, behavior, and/ or emotion. …
Mapping the Moral Domain - New York University
Jan 17, 2011 · Moral systems are interlocking sets of values, virtues, norms, prac- tices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms that work together to …
Moral Foundations Theory Introduction Synonyms Definition …
Definition Moral foundations theory is a descriptive theory about the diverse contents of moral psychology, particularly moral judgment. It contends that human moral judgment (a) is …
