Moral Foundations Theory | moralfoundations.org

Moral Foundations Theory was created by a group of social and cultural psychologists (see us here) to understand why morality varies so much across cultures ... MoralFoundationsTheorywascreatedbyagroupofsocialandculturalpsychologists(seeushere)tounderstandwhymoralityvariessomuchacrossculturesyetstillshowssomanysimilaritiesandrecurrentthemes.Inbrief,thetheoryproposesthatseveralinnateanduniversallyavailablepsychologicalsystemsarethefoundationsof“intuitiveethics.”Eachculturethenconstructsvirtues,narratives,andinstitutionsontopofthesefoundations,therebycreatingtheuniquemoralitiesweseearoundtheworld,andconflictingwithinnationstoo.Thefivefoundationsforwhichwethinktheevidenceisbestare: 1)Care/harm:Thisfoundationisrelatedtoourlongevolutionasmammalswithattachmentsystemsandanabilitytofeel(anddislike)thepainofothers.Itunderliesvirtuesofkindness,gentleness,andnurturance. 2)Fairness/cheating:Thisfoundationisrelatedtotheevolutionaryprocessofreciprocalaltruism.Itgeneratesideasofjustice,rights,andautonomy.[Note:Inouroriginalconception,Fairnessincludedconcernsaboutequality,whicharemorestronglyendorsedbypoliticalliberals.However,aswereformulatedthetheoryin2011basedonnewdata,weemphasizeproportionality,whichisendorsedbyeveryone,butismorestronglyendorsedbyconservatives] 3)Loyalty/betrayal:Thisfoundationisrelatedtoourlonghistoryastribalcreaturesabletoformshiftingcoalitions.Itunderliesvirtuesofpatriotismandself-sacrificeforthegroup.Itisactiveanytimepeoplefeelthatit’s“oneforall,andallforone.” 4)Authority/subversion:Thisfoundationwasshapedbyourlongprimatehistoryofhierarchicalsocialinteractions.Itunderliesvirtuesofleadershipandfollowership,includingdeferencetolegitimateauthorityandrespectfortraditions. 5)Sanctity/degradation:Thisfoundationwasshapedbythepsychologyofdisgustandcontamination.Itunderliesreligiousnotionsofstrivingtoliveinanelevated,lesscarnal,morenobleway.Itunderliesthewidespreadideathatthebodyisatemplewhichcanbedesecratedbyimmoralactivitiesandcontaminants(anideanotuniquetoreligioustraditions). Wethinkthereareseveralotherverygoodcandidatesfor“foundationhood,”especially: 6)Liberty/oppression:Thisfoundationisaboutthefeelingsofreactanceandresentmentpeoplefeeltowardthosewhodominatethemandrestricttheirliberty.Itsintuitionsareoftenintensionwiththoseoftheauthorityfoundation.Thehatredofbulliesanddominatorsmotivatespeopletocometogether,insolidarity,toopposeortakedowntheoppressor.Wereportsomepreliminaryworkonthispotentialfoundationinthispaper,onthepsychologyoflibertarianismandliberty. Muchofourpresentresearchinvolvesapplyingthetheorytopolitical“cultures”suchasthoseofliberalsandconservatives.ThecurrentAmericanculturewar,wehavefound,canbeseenasarisingfromthefactthatliberalstrytocreateamoralityrelyingprimarilyontheCare/harmfoundation,withadditionalsupportfromtheFairness/cheatingandLiberty/oppressionfoundations.Conservatives,especiallyreligiousconservatives,useallsixfoundations,includingLoyalty/betrayal,Authority/subversion,andSanctity/degradation.Theculturewarinthe1990sandearly2000scenteredonthelegitimacyoftheselatterthreefoundations.In2009,withtheriseoftheTeaParty,theculturewarshiftedawayfromsocialissuessuchasabortionandhomosexuality,andbecamemoreaboutdifferingconceptionsoffairness(equalityvs.proportionality)andliberty(isgovernmenttheoppressorordefender?).TheTeaPartyandOccupyWallStreetarebothpopulistmovementsthattalkagreatdealaboutfairnessandliberty,butinverydifferentways,asyoucanseehere,fortheTeaParty,andhere,forOWS.Youcanfindoutyourownmoralfoundationsprofileatwww.YourMorals.org. Thetheorywasfirstdevelopedfromasimultaneousreviewofcurrentevolutionarythinkingaboutmoralityandcross-culturalresearchonvirtues(reportedinHaidt&Joseph,2004[requestpaper]).ThetheoryisanextensionofRichardShweder’stheoryofthe“threeethics”commonlyusedaroundtheworldwhenpeopletalkaboutmorality.(Seethisarticle:Shweder,R.A.,Much,N.C.,Mahapatra,M.,&Park,L.[1997].The“bigthree”ofmorality[autonomy,community,anddivinity]andthe“bigthree”explanationsofsuffering).ThetheorywasalsostronglyinfluencedbyAlanFiske‘srelationalmodelstheory. TolearnmoreaboutMFT: Forthemostcompleteandaccessibleoverviewofthetheory,read TheRighteousMind. Ifyoujustwanttoreadaboutthefoundationsthemselves,hereisChapter7 ofTheRighteousMind. Foramoreacademicoverviewofthetheory,includingthecriteriaforcallingsomethinga“foundation,”see thisreviewpaper. Toseeallofouracademicarticles,visitourPublicationspage. TogetanoverviewofMFTandhowitappliestoAmericanpolitics,watchthevideosbelow(orviewthemhere andhereifthey don’tplaybelow): Thiswebsiteisrunbythe YourMorals.orgcollaboration. WebsitemaintainedbyDavidDobolyi. (LastupdatedJune2021)