Moral Binding Flashcards
What are the two main functions of morality according to Haidt?
It BINDS people into cohesive groups, but also BLINDS them to other perspectives = leading to division.
Why do people struggle to understand opposing moral views?
Because different groups have different moral matrices that shape their values
What are the three evolutionary explanations for morality?
- Kin Selection (Hamilton, 1964) = we help relatives to pass on shared genes
- Reciprocal Altruism (Trivers, 1971) = we help others expecting they’ll help us later
- Group Selection (Darwin, 1871) = moral groups outcompete selfish ones
Objection to group selection
“He who was ready to sacrifice his life, as many a savage has been, rather than betray his comrades, would often leave no offspring to inherit his noble nature” - Darwin 1871. Do selfish people come out ahead?
Free Rider Problem
Will selfish people come out ahead? Those who sacrifice theirselves for the group may not produces offspring.
What is Multilevel Selection Theory?
Morality evolves through competition within groups and competition between groups (cooperative group wins)
Wilson’s argues for group selection being a primary driving force in human evolution (have an innate drive to be in groups). Haidt’s 4 reasons why:
- Major transitions produce superorganisms
- Shared intentionality generates moral matrices
- Genes and cultures coevolve
- Evolution can be fast
Major transitions produce superorganisms
- Prokaryotic cells > Eukaryotic cells > Multicellular organisms
- Eusociality: advanced level of social organisation, mass cooperation, no free riding, female produces offspring, others cooperate in caring for young, hives compete with other hives
Shared intentionality generates moral matrices
Big gap between human and other animals’ intelligence (Tomasello). Chimps cannot share intentions/goals, cannot collaborate for tasks, unlike humans.
What is a moral matrix?
A shared system of values and beliefs that guides behaviour in a group. Religion binds people to moral matrixes
Why do moral matrices cause division?
Because they make it hard to understand outsiders with different values
Genes and cultures coevolve
- Cultural innovations lead to genetic responses/ evolution (e,g, lactose enzyme gene, new gene facilitated larger herds and cheese)
- Cultural changes drive group innovation
- Genetic evolutions are caused by groups
Evolution can be fast
- Haidt says group selection can be fast
- Morality is linked with culture and environment changes, then surely morality evolves too?
Dual nature (Haidt, 2012)
“Individuals compete with individuals, and that competition rewards selfishness – which includes some forms of strategic cooperation … But at the same time, groups compete with groups, and that competition favors groups composed of true team players – those who are willing to cooperate and work for the good of the group, even when they could do better by slacking, cheating, or leaving the group.”
* Humans have a dual nature, strange mix of selfishness and selflessness, but mostly selfish.
* 90% chimp, 10% bee
* Groupish overlay
What is the Hive Hypothesis?
“90% Chimp, 10% Bee” - Haidt argues that humans are both selfish (like chimps) and group-orientated (like bees). Chimps = compete for individual survival. Bees = work together for the hive’s survival
Homo Duplex (Durkheim, 1887)
- Human beings have two natures
- Sacred realm: Human as part of a large group, part of a whole
- Profane realm: Human as an individual, autonomy
- This is what seperates us from animals, both realms are a temporary state
What is the ‘hive switch’?
A psychological shift where individuals feel deeply united by a group
What triggers a hive switch flip?
- Religious rituals
- War
- Political movements
- Concerts, raves, sports events
- Climbing up a hill
- Drugs such as LSD
Biological/internal
1. Oxytocin
2. Mirror neurons
What is shared intentionality?
The human ability to collaborate and share goals, forming cultures
Hivishness in the workplace
- Transactional leadership (Burns, 1978): Worker behaviour is forces, monitored, comepet with each other, so people do not pull together for the good of the group
- Transformational leadership (Kaiser, Hogan, Craig, 2008): Goals larger than self, teamwork, similarity, healthy competition among teams, not individuals, more productiveness. Focuses oj liberty, authority, and sanctity.
How does religion support group cohesion?
Through rituals and shared beliefs, religion strengthens social bonds (Charles et al., 2021)
The New Atheist model of religious psychology (e.g. Harris, 2004)
Believing > Doing
New Atheism explanations for religion
- Hypersensitive agency detection device (Barrett, 2000): We see agency when there is none. Humans are cognitively primed to believe in supernatural agents.
- Religions are a set of memes that have undergone cultural evolutions (Dawkins, 1976): Meme is a concept for religion aspects evolving, a replicator.
* Haidt says New Atheism is wrong, and focus too much on one aspect
What does Durkheim say about religion? (1915)
“A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them”
* Religion creates a real moral community, not just an imagined one.
* Supports Haidt.
The Durkheimian model of religious psychology
Believing > Doing > Belonging >
* Circular model, and goes both ways
* The belonging aspect is new
Sosis
Sosis (2000)
Religious communes are more likely than secular communes to survive at every stage of their life course. Right view
Atran (2010)
Religion helps groups cohere and solve free rider problems, win against anger groups. It’s competition between groups that has driven the cultural evolution of religion. Left view
Morality and Religion
- “If society is an organism, can we then think of morality and religion as biologically and culturally evolved adaptations that enable human groups to function as single units rather than mere collections of individuals?” Wilson (2002)
- Brings together Durkheim and Darwin, cohesive groups and group selection. Helps organisms to survive and reproduce. Haidt agrees.
- Religion maybe not relevant these days, only tribal days.
What study showed that religious people value community?
Putnam & Campbell (2010) found that religion increases social bonding, even among non-believers.
How do religious and secular moral values differ?
Religious people focus on sanctity, loyalty and authority. Secular people focus on harm, fairness and liberty.
How does religion influence moral values?
Religion binds people into moral communities by emphasising loyalty, authority and sanctity.
A new definition of morality
“Moral systems are interlocking sets of values, virtues, norms, practices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms that work together to suppress or regulate self-interest and make cooperative societies possible.”
Haidt (2012)
* Groupishness being an innovation that moves humans beyond selfishness to a present ability to live in larger societies, morality evolved ovee time.
Do only religious people form moral communities?
No, secular rituals - political activism, sports fandom - also create unity
What is political polarisation?
Occurs when the political attitudes and ideologies of individual groups become more distinct and extreme
Why do political groups struggle to agree?
They emphasise different moral foundations, so they view morality differently
Issue Polarisation
- Dispersion: towards extreme ends
- Bimodality: of opinion, with little middle ground
- Conflict extension: across a range of issues that cohere around a particular identity
Affective Polarisation
- Identification: with an ingroup based on shared beliefs
- Differentiation: of ingroup with outgroup which leads to favourability
- Perception bias: that leads to different views
Why is political polarisation increasing?
- Lack of common enemies - e.g. WWII and Cold War united people
- Social media reinforces tribalism
- Different moral foundations make people talk past each other
How can we reduce moral and political division?
- Recognise your own moral biases.
- Try to understand others’ moral matrices.
- Engage in meaningful conversations across ideological lines.
What was the study on political polarization and moral perception?
(Lakoff, 2016) Examined how liberals and conservatives conceptualise morality through metaphors
- LIBERALS; see morality through a “Nurturant Parent” model = focus on care, empathy, and social justice.
- CONSERVATIVES; see morality through a “Strict Father” model = focus on discipline, order, and tradition.
What is the key finding of the study on political polarization and moral perception? (Lakoff, 2016)
Helps understand political division from a cognitive perspective. Connects to Moral Foundations Theory and how morality influences politics
What does Haidt mean by ‘Morality binds and blinds’?
Morality binds people into ideological teams but blinds them to other perspectives
Exam Studies
- **Moral reasoning vs intuition **= Haidt, Bjorklund & Murphy (2000) - Moral Dumbfounding
- Moral judgement = Wheatley & Haidt (2005) - Hypnotic Disgust
- Cultural differences in morality = Henrich et al. (2010) - WEIRD Problem
- Political morality = Graham, Haidt & Nosek (2009) - Moral Foundations Questionnaire
- How people justify morality = Haidt (2006) - Rider & Elephant Metaphor
