Morality

About: Morality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22623 publications have been published within this topic receiving 545733 citations. The topic is also known as: moral & morals.

The new synthesis in moral psychology.

Abstract: People are selfish, yet morally motivated. Morality is universal, yet culturally variable. Such apparent contradictions are dissolving as research from many disciplines converges on a few shared principles, including the importance of moral intuitions, the socially functional (rather than truth-seeking) nature of moral thinking, and the coevolution of moral minds with cultural practices and institutions that create diverse moral communities. I propose a fourth principle to guide future research: Morality is about more than harm and fairness. More research is needed on the collective and religious parts of the moral domain, such as loyalty, authority, and spiritual purity.

The biology of moral systems

Abstract: Despite wide acceptance that the attributes of living creatures have appeared through a cumulative evolutionary process guided chiefly by natural selection, many human activities have seemed analytically inaccessible through such an approach. Prominent evolutionary biologists, for example, have described morality as contrary to the direction of biological evolution, and moral philosophers rarely regard evolution as relevant to their discussions. "The Biology of Moral Systems" adopts the position that moral questions arise out of conflicts of interest, and that moral systems are ways of using confluences of interest at lower levels of social organization to deal with conflicts of interest at higher levels. Moral systems are described as systems of indirect reciprocity: humans gain and lose socially and reproductively not only by direct transactions, but also by the reputations they gain from the everyday flow of social interactions. The author develops a general theory of human interests, using senescence and effort theory from biology, to help analyze the patterning of human lifetimes. He argues that the ultimate interests of humans are reproductive, and that the concept of morality has arisen within groups because of its contribution to unity in the context, ultimately, of success in intergroup competition. He contends that morality is not easily relatable to universals, and he carries this argument into a discussion of what he calls the greatest of all moral problems, the nuclear arms race. "Crammed with sage observations on moral dilemmas and many reasons why an understanding of evolution based on natural selection will advance thinking in finding practical solutions to our most difficult social problems." U "Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences" "Richard D. Alexander" is Donald Ward Tinkle Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, and Curator of Insects, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Alexander is the author of "Darwinism and Human Affairs."

The Moral Dimension: Toward a New Economics

Abstract: Contents Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1: The New Paradigm: Underlying Themes PART I: BEYOND PLEASURE: THE CASE FOR DEONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL SCIENCES Introduction Chapter 2: Pleasure, Altruism, and the Great X Chapter 3: Substantive Differences: Moral Not Equal Pleasure Chapter 4: Some Evidence: People Act Unselfishly Chapter 5: The Irreducibility of Moral Behavior PART II: BEYOND RATIONALISM: THE ROLE OF VALUES AND EMOTIONS Introduction Chapter 6: Normative-Affective Factors Chapter 7: How Inefficient? The Scope of Intra-Cognitive Limitations Chapter 8: What Is Rational? Chapter 9: Instrumental Rationality: Supportive Condition Chapter 10: Thoughtless Rationality (Rules of Thumb) PART III: BEYOND RADICAL INDIVIDUALISM: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY AND POWER Introduction Chapter 11: Collective (Macro) Rationality Chapter 12: Encapsulated Competition Chapter 13: Political Power and Intra-Market Relations Chapter 14: In Conclusion: Policy and Moral Implications Overview and Propositional Inventory Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

When Morality Opposes Justice: Conservatives Have Moral Intuitions that Liberals May Not Recognize

Abstract: Researchers in moral psychology and social justice have agreed that morality is about matters of harm, rights, and justice. With this definition of morality, conservative opposition to social justice programs has appeared to be immoral, and has been explained as a product of various non-moral processes, such as system justification or social dominance orientation. In this article we argue that, from an anthropological perspective, the moral domain is usually much broader, encompassing many more aspects of social life and valuing institutions as much or more than individuals. We present theoretical and empirical reasons for believing that there are in fact five psychological systems that provide the foundations for the world's many moralities. The five foundations are psychological preparations for detecting and reacting emotionally to issues related to harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity. Political liberals have moral intuitions primarily based upon the first two foundations, and therefore misunderstand the moral motivations of political conservatives, who generally rely upon all five foundations.