The Righteous Mind Flashcards
Morality
What is the first rule that Jonathan Haidt proposes as to how we should think about the origins/effects of morality?
I. Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second
II. There’s more to morality than harm and fairness
III. Morality binds and blinds
Morality
What is the second rule that Jonathan Haidt proposes as to how we should think about the origins/effects of morality?
I. Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second
II. There’s more to morality than harm and fairness
III. Morality binds and blinds
Morality
What is the third rule that Jonathan Haidt proposes as to how we should think about the origins/effects of morality?
I. Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second
II. There’s more to morality than harm and fairness
III. Morality binds and blinds
Morality
The analogy Jonathan Haidt uses to describe how our minds operate is that our conscious selves are a relatively weak __________ sitting atop a large __________ (the unconscious processes of our minds).
The analogy Jonathan Haidt uses to describe how our minds operate is that our conscious selves are a relatively weak rider sitting atop a large elephant (the unconscious processes of our minds).
Morality
True/False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, moral reasoning is almost always predetermined in a logical way.
False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, moral reasoning is often a post hoc fabrication.
(to justify one’s intuitions, emotional or otherwise)
Morality
According to Jonathan Haidt, children develop their moral compasses through a combination of both (1) self-construction through their understanding of ______ and also (2) ______ input and guidance.
According to Jonathan Haidt, children develop their moral compasses through a combination of both (1) self-construction through their understanding of harm and also (2) cultural input and guidance.
Morality
Of the following, who would Jonathan Haidt say is the most correct?
Plato - reason is the master and should rule over moral intuitions (e.g. moral emotions).
Jefferson - reason and these intuitive processes should co-govern as equal partners.
Hume - reason is the servant of the passions (the intuitive processes).
Hume - reason is the servant of the passions (the intuitive processes).
I.e. our emotional and intuitive processes (the elephant) drive our conscious selves (the riders).
Morality
According to Jonathan Haidt, what is the best way to change others’ minds on charged topics?
Speak to their intuitions (the elephant) first
(Don’t just begin with your stance and then try to convince them with supporting evidences; walk them through your intuitions first in order to guide them towards your conclusion.)
Morality
Describe Jonathan Haidt’s model of how we, as social beings, come to our moral conclusions.
Morality
Who shows more of the beginnings of an understanding of morality, a psychopath (who can reason but not feel) or a baby (who can feel but not reason)?
A baby
(thus, emotive intutions often play into our moral understanding than logical reasoning does)
Morality
True/False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, the way we often arrive at our moral reasonings is by developing post hoc explanations for our gut intuitions (initial reactions / emotional judgments), NOT by logically assessing the facts and reaching a conclusion.
True.
Morality
Are most of our personal political intuitions groupish (deployed to support our team) or selfish (deployed to support our own reasonings)?
Groupish
(we try to support our teams and demonstrate commitment to the team’s values/goals)
Morality
Does the evidence show that moral philosophers tend to behave any more ethically than their counterparts who are not moral philosophers?
No.
(The rider being more aware doesn’t necessarily make them more able to tame the elephant.)
Morality
True/False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, our moral reasoning is most often used simply to justify the intuitions we have already reached.
(I.e. our rider choosing to go along with what the elephant is already doing.)
True.
Morality
According to Jonathan Haidt, why is it important to have a diverse array of intellectual opinions and ideological perspectives in any truth-seeking group (such as a governing board or a group of scientists)?
Our minds are hardwired to find reasonings to support the conclusions we’ve already reached (the rider going along with the elephant). Having diverse opinions present allows us to challenge one another and thus think outside the box in arriving at whatever the truth is (your elephant influences mine in a way my rider can’t).
Morality
What are Shweder’s three ethics of morality?
(ACD)
- Autonomy
- Community
- Divinity
Morality
WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) cultures primarily build their morality around Shweder’s ethic of __________.
WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) cultures primarily build their morality around Shweder’s ethic of autonomy.
Morality
Non-Western cultures typically build their societal morals around which of Shweder’s ethics in addition to (or in place of) autonomy?
Community;
divinity
Morality
Which of Shweder’s moral ethics could be defined as a person’s right to act/think/move through the world as they wish?
Autonomy
Morality
Which of Shweder’s moral ethics could be defined as a person’s membership of societal groups (families/teams/companies/tribes/nations/etc.) and their associated duty to play their assigned roles within those entities?
Community
Morality
Which of Shweder’s moral ethics could be defined as the human’s natural state as an immortal, divine soul within a temporary body (the body being a temple to be honored and kept clean/undefiled) that should be used in ‘good,’ ‘godly’ ways (discouraging crassness, empty consumerism, or trivialized sexuality)?
Divinity
Morality
What is moral pluralism?
The fact that the moral domain varies across cultures
Morality
The moral domain is typically _________ (more narrow/wider) in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) countries and _________ (more narrow/wider) in other societies (including conservative / religious factions of WEIRD countries).
The moral domain is typically more narrow in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) countries and wider in other societies (including conservative / religious factions of WEIRD countries).
Morality
The moral domain in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) countries primarily forms around what principle(s)?
The moral domain in non-WEIRD societies (including conservative / religious factions of WEIRD countries) primarily forms around what principle(s)?
(1) Autonomy
(2) Autonomy, community, and divinity
Morality
According to Jonathan Haidt, is it possible that there might be more than one valid moral framework for judging others or running a society?
Yes.
Morality
Jonathan Haidt (mimicking Hume) compares our sense of morality to what other sensory system of the body?
Five taste buds
(gustatory)
Morality
__________ (utilitarianism/deontology) is more likely to focus on welfare as a way of solving issues.
__________ (utilitarianism/deontology) is more likely to use a focus on rights as a way of solving issues.
Utilitarianism is more likely to focus on welfare as a way of solving issues.
Deontology is more likely to use a focus on rights as a way of solving issues.
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- _______
- _______
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- _______
- _______
- Authority
- Sanctity
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- _______
- _______
- Sanctity
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- _______
- _______
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- _______
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- _______
Jonathan Haidt’s ‘moral foundations theory’ centers around the following five ‘taste buds’ of moral value:
- Care
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Sanctity
Morality
Jonathan Haidt’s five moral ‘taste buds’ of moral foundations theory are care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and sanctity.
What sixth ‘taste bud’ has been added in order to explain libertarianism and also better differentiate the right and left of the political spectrum?
Liberty/oppression
Morality
True/False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, infant brains are complex structures hardwired for fixed and immutable perspectives on / responses to various moral situations.
False.
According to Jonathan Haidt, infant brains are complex structures prewired for flexible perspectives that are subject to change in light of various moral situations (you could say,‘organized in advance of experience’).
Morality
True/False.
Each of the moral values (care, fairness, loyalty, authority, sanctity) which we tend to hold in some balance with the others are derived from evolutionary mechanisms that made them valuable as innate, ‘prewired’ parts of our neural make-up.
True.
Morality
The ‘care/harm’ moral value most likely used to convey an evolutionary advantage in responding to what specific situation?
Protecting/caring for children in response to their suffering/neediness/distress
Morality
The ‘fairness/cheating’ moral value most likely used to convey an evolutionary advantage in responding to what specific situation?
Reaping the benefits of two-way cooperation
Morality
The ‘loyalty/betrayal’ moral value most likely used to convey an evolutionary advantage in responding to what specific situation?
Forming cohesive conditions against an external threat/challenge
Morality
The ‘authority/subversion’ moral value most likely used to convey an evolutionary advantage in responding to what specific situation?
Structuring hierarchies for organization, division of labor, and suppression of in-group conflict
(Someone has to have the final say.)