Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 7 (1):51-66 (2008)
Abstract |
Why do people act morally – when they do? Moral philosophers and psychologists often assume that acting morally in the absence of incentives or sanctions is a product of a desire to uphold one or another moral principle (e.g., fairness). This form of motivation might be called moral integrity because the goal is to actually be moral. In a series of experiments designed to explore the nature of moral motivation, colleagues and I have found little evidence of moral integrity. We have found considerable evidence of a different form of moral motivation, moral hypocrisy. The goal of moral hypocrisy is to appear moral yet, if possible, avoid the cost of being moral. To fully reach the goal of moral hypocrisy requires self-deception, and we have found evidence of that as well. Strengthening moral integrity is difficult. Even effects of moral perspective taking – imagining yourself in the place of the other (as recommended by the Golden Rule) – appear limited, further contributing to the moral masquerade
|
Keywords | Philosophy Artificial Intelligence Philosophy of Mind Interdisciplinary Studies Phenomenology |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/s11097-007-9058-y |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Ethics.Mark JOHNSON - 1993 - University of Chicago Press.
Irrationality: An Essay on `Akrasia', Self-Deception, and Self-Control.Alfred R. Mele - 1987 - Oxford University Press.
Civilization and its Discontents.Sigmund Freud - 1952/1930 - In John Martin Rich (ed.), Readings in the Philosophy of Education. Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth Pub. Co..
View all 13 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Experimental philosophy and the fruitfulness of normative concepts.Matthew Lindauer - 2020 - Philosophical Studies 177 (8):2129-2152.
Intuition Fail: Philosophical Activity and the Limits of Expertise.Wesley Buckwalter - 2016 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 92 (2):378-410.
The Evolution of Moral Intuitions and Their Feeling of Rightness.Christine Clavien & Chloë FitzGerald - forthcoming - In Joyce R. (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Evolution and Philosophy.
Punishing Hypocrisy: The Roles of Hypocrisy and Moral Emotions in Deciding Culpability and Punishment of Criminal and Civil Moral Transgressors.Sean M. Laurent, Brian A. M. Clark, Stephannie Walker & Kimberly D. Wiseman - 2014 - Cognition and Emotion 28 (1):59-83.
View all 12 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Moral Behaviour, Moral Development and Motivation.Sharie McNamee - 1977 - Journal of Moral Education 7 (1):27-31.
Dai Zhen on Human Nature and Moral Cultivation.Justin Tiwald - 2010 - In John Makeham (ed.), The Dao Companion to Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Springer. pp. 399--422.
Contractualism, Moral Motivation, and Practical Reason.Samuel Freeman - 1991 - Journal of Philosophy 88 (6):281-303.
Confucius and Mencius on the Motivation to Be Moral.Yong Huang - 2010 - Philosophy East and West 60 (1):pp. 65-87.
Morality and Hebraic Christian Religion.Jason S. Wright - 1981 - Journal of Moral Education 11 (1):32-40.
Kant on Moral Sensibility and Moral Motivation.Owen Ware - 2014 - Journal of the History of Philosophy 52 (4):727-746.
Is Moral Internalism Supported by Folk Intuitions?Caj Strandberg & Fredrik Björklund - 2013 - Philosophical Psychology 26 (3):319-335.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
807 ( #5,979 of 2,411,639 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
21 ( #36,415 of 2,411,639 )
2009-01-28
Total views
807 ( #5,979 of 2,411,639 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
21 ( #36,415 of 2,411,639 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads