-Mary Wortley Montagu
Archive for the ‘Moral Theory’ Category
When you listen, what do you Honor?
June 13, 2011-Mary Wortley Montagu
Moral Theory Part 2 (What Liberals Need To Know)
May 22, 2011I’m trying to cover all facets of Spirituality so that includes the practical. My Spirituality posts includes prayers, dreams, relationships, people, history, & how things work. Morals would certainly fall under that category so lets look at Moral Theory. Moral Theory is sometimes hard to understand. The reason it’s important is because we are no longer children. As adults we can see that things are no longer wrong or right, black or white. In trying to make moral decisions we have entered the realm of Abstract Thinking, trying to balance multiples of concerns to find right answers. Take your time to assimilate Moral Theory research. It can be examined at the websites as shown at the bottom of the post.
When I became aware of Jon Haidt’s(and his colleagues) research of new Moral Theory concepts it totally amazed me. Most of my life I’ve been a bleeding heart liberal. Mr. Haidt and his colleagues have pursued research beyond some of the Original Moral Theories. In essence there are more deciding issues of moral decision-making then if things only fall into the 1) Harm/Care and 2)Fair/Reciprocity categories. He(and his colleagues) have investigated an ongoing realization that 3)Authority, 4)Ingroup/Loyalty, & 5)Purity/Sanctity were concepts that many people use in the moral decision process.
Liberals make decisions principally with:
1) Harm/Care
2)Fair/Reciprocity
Or put another way : Does it Harm anyone and is it Fair?
Conservatives also take into account the issues of:
3)Authority
4)Ingroup/Loyalty
5)Purity/Sanctity
So Conservatives also add in : What Authority does it have to make it right, is it in the group and are they loyal, & does it uphold sacred values and purity.
These precepts are important reasons why Liberals and Conservatives are different. While liberals are deciding if the issues are doing harm or if they are fair, conservatives are also asking What does the Boss think, does it fit the group and loyalty model, & does it uphold sacredness and purity.
Mr. Haidt(and his colleagues) realized the Psychology/Sociology/Moral Theory Community was mostly liberal and so in some ways couldn’t really support their theses and Scientific Papers on their selective and subjective research methods. In essence, they suffered themselves from confirmation bias(the idea that they favored their own position). The Psychology/Sociology/Moral Theory community was about 80 – 90 % Liberals and so they could not even judge real Moral Theory because they only listened to their own voice.
At this point in time Mr. Haidt(& his colleagues) also realized that History & Anthropology showed a preponderance of evidence that people have mostly used the added Conservative Values of 3)Authority, 4)Ingroup/Loyalty, & 5)Purity/sanctity. Our county, America, is one of the first nations that ensured Liberty, Freedom, and Independence. Because of that we have a very modern Liberal constituency that could argue with Authority, deny Groupthink, and to even question and oppose Sacred Issues. Most countries and societies are still Authority, InGroup/Loyalty, and Purity/Sanctity oriented. In essence the Psychology/Sociology/Moral Theory Community was wrong(or at least very slanted) and they should have at least considered these values in their research, papers and books.
NOW WE COME TO THE REAL POINT OF THIS EXACT POST
It appears the Mr. Haidt considers his position now, not as a liberal, but a centrist liberal(he used the words liberal Democrat and centrist Democrat). I THINK THAT I DO TO.
As a former bleeding heart liberal I NEVER CARED WHAT THE AUTHORITIES THOUGHT, I DIDN’T CARE WHAT THE GROUP THOUGHT, AND I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT FALSE SANCTAMONIOUS ISSUES. I now realize that I may have been at least partly wrong(…a little crow,….slice of humble pie,…gulp).
The quick and dirty way that I can finish this is to give those examples of the other three Moral Theory choices that I know now have enriched my life.
Together we are greater than the sum of our parts(Authority, Ingroup).
Without my family I would be a mess(Ingroup, sanctity)
Without these things the center will not hold(Authority, Ingroup).
Mob rule needs direction and cohesion(Authority, Ingroup)
Preservation of society is important(Authority, Ingroup, Sanctity)
Children deserve to mature to adulthood(Ingroup, Sanctity)
Authority & Society can sometimes provide role models, leadership, & direction(Authority, Ingroup, Sanctity).
More sometime later on “Why I was only liberal.”
The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot.”
– Mark Twain
These are the big ideas that take some time to wrap our heads around, the full meaning can’t be understood until we digest it slowly and completely. Because of that I highly recommend that you, the reader of this post, examine it at length on you own.
Here is The MoralFoundations.org Site:
http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/mft/index.php
John Haidt’s Morals lesson in video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs41JrnGaxc
New York Times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/science/08tier.html
Take a test to find out your “Morals position”
An Investagation of Moral Theory
March 10, 2011Recently I came across an NPR news item of Moral Theory by John Haidt. It’s very interesting as it talks about how people make moral choices and decisions. It’s a groundbreaking masterpiece. It explains a lot about liberals and conservatives and is very helpful in helping people understand other people’s outlooks. There is also a website at Moralfoundations.org http://faculty.virginia.edu/haidtlab/mft/index.php?t=home that is very helpful. Basically liberals believe in two guiding principles of Harm/Care and Justice/Reciprocity. Conservatives believe in Harm/Care, Justice/Reciprocity but they also believe equally in other things. Conservatives also believe that Authority, InGroup/Loyalty, & Purity/Sanctity are important considerations for moral choices. This creates a large gap in the two groups of liberals and conservatives understanding one another. Which are you? Can you see the other side?
Another good quote:
The Great events of world history are, at bottom, profoundly unimportant. In the last analysis, the essential thing is the life of the individual.
This alone makes history, here alone do the great transformations first take place, and the whole future, the whole history of the world, ultimately spring as a gigantic summation from these hidden sources in individuals.
In our most private and most subjective lives we are not only the passive witnesses of our age, and it’s sufferers, but also its makers. We make our own epoch.
C. G. Jung 1934