Intuitive Underpinnings of Morality : The Foundational Sixth Sense
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Authors
Silverstein, Eric
Issue Date
2013
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
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Abstract
The present study investigates the role of emotion-based "moral intuitions" in the organization of individuals' ideological belief systems. This study uses semi-structured, open-ended 'Social Value' interviews designed to both elicit young adults' values and beliefs as they might express them in response to standard survey questions, and to explore in depth the organization of their world-views and the emotions and moral principles that underlie them. In this review, I argue that socio-psychological research on belief systems evidences that individuals form ideological outlooks- to an important degree- by intuitively applying underlying social emotions to important political and moral issues. As individuals differ in the strength of these emotions, so they differ in their social values and political outlooks. The focus of this review is to identify the psychological needs, motives, and constraints of these experientially conditioned emotions underlying individualized conceptions of moral and ethical behavior- and measure the strength by which these familial, environmental and cultural conditions influences are responsible for individuations in moral thought processing. Engaging and expanding on Jonathan Haidt's five foundations of morality theory, this study is designed to detect and code the foundational intuitive emotions influencing moral cognition- Harm|Care, Faimess|Reciprocity, InGroup|Loyalty, Authority|Respect, and Purity! Sanctity- and prepares a critical extension and amendment to Haidt's (2012) theory.
Description
vi, 60 p.
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U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.