Psych 448 C Morality, Religion, and Justice 10/19/08

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Moral Judgments and culture Are there universal stages of moral reasoning? Is there universal agreement on what are the most important moral principles? Do we use our emotions or reasoning to make moral judgments?

Development of moral reasoning: Lawrence Kohlberg ( ) Interested in the question of “how do we explain why something is right or wrong?” Developed Six Stages of Moral Development

Presented dilemmas to children & adults Most famous one: the Heinz dilemma. In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. the drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $1,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.

Interview questions: 1. Should Heinz steal the drug? 1a. Why or why not? 2. Is it actually right or wrong for him to steal the drug? 2a. Why is it right or wrong? 3. Does Heinz have a duty or obligation to steal the drug? 3a. Why or why not? Etc.

Six Stages of Moral Development Level 1: Preconventional Needs and fears  Stage 1: fear of punishment; should obey authority “Shouldn’t steal, because Heinz will get in trouble”  Stage 2: personal interest; equal exchange & satisfying needs “Should steal, because his wife needs the medicine more than the druggist needs money” Level 2: Conventional Level 3: Postconventional

Six Stages of Moral Development Level 1: Preconventional Level 2: Conventional Follow the conventions of others and society  Stage 3: Interpersonal accord and conformity; Live up to the expectations of people close to you “His family will think he’s good if he steals”  Stage 4: Social accord and system maintenance “He should follow the law, because the law is what is right” Level 3: Postconventional

Six Stages of Moral Development Level 1: Preconventional Level 2: Conventional Level 3: Postconventional Universal moral principles  Stage 5: Should generally follow laws, not because they are morally right, but because they are a social contract;  Stage 6: Follow universal moral principles (of justice and individual rights), regardless of law Stages 5 & 6 generally combined  “Heinz should steal because it is always wrong to allow a person to die when you have the power to prevent it, regardless of what the law says.”

Six Stages of Moral Development Level 1: Preconventional Needs and fears Level 2: Conventional Follow the conventions of others and society Level 3: Postconventional Universal principles

Example: interview each other Mr. Adams is an officer on a large modern American cargo ship in One night, while at sea, he finds a sailor drunk at a time when the sailor should have been monitoring the radar screen. After the sailor sobers up, Adams punishes the sailor by giving him 5 lashes with a whip. Should Mr. Adams have whipped the sailor? Why or why not? Can you think of reasons from each stage? Based on scenario in Kelly, Stich, Haley, Eng, Fessler 2007

Are these Universal stages of moral reasoning? 1. Do all cultures have all stages?

Are these Universal stages of moral reasoning? Snarey et al. (1985)  45 studies from around the world, 26 different cultures  All urbanized cultures had at least one adult that showed postconventional reasoning Both Western and non-Western cultures To different degrees; ranging from 1 out of 20 adults in city in Turkey; to 10 out of 12 Kibbutz members (Israel)  However, NO adults in Folk / Tribal societies show any post-conventional reasoning

Are these Universal stages of moral reasoning? Snarey et al. (1985)

Are these Universal stages of moral reasoning? 1. Do all cultures have all stages?  NO.  Problem with the cultures, not “developed enough?”  Or a problem with the way the stages are defined? Are there other postconventional principles?

Other postconventional principles? For example: Taiwan: “Joe” story In Kohlberg’s manual, principle of “filial duty” not part of Postconventional thinking Snarey 1985, p. 224

Richard Shweder Professor at University of Chicago Cultural Anthropologist Kohlberg only focusing on some moral principles?  Detailed analysis of moral discourse from residents of a north-east Indian city  The “Big Three:” Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity

The Big Three: 1. Ethic of Autonomy Issues of Harm, Rights, and Justice  Should protect the freedom of individuals as much as possible  Familiar to people in individualistic societies  Would consider the following to be moral issues: Harm: Whether or not someone cared for someone weak or vulnerable Whether or not someone was cruel Fairness: Whether or not some people were treated differently than others Whether or not someone tried to control or dominate someone else Shweder et al, 1997; Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, MFQ, 2007

Ethic of Autonomy violation examples: How much money would you need to be paid to be convinced to…  Stick a pin into the palm of a child you don't know.  Accept a plasma screen television that a friend of yours wants to give you. You know that your friend bought the TV a year ago from a thief who had stolen it from a wealthy family. Haidt, 2007

The Big Three: 2. Ethic of Community Issues of Duty, Loyalty, Hierarchy  Should be good member of group as much as possible  Would consider the following to be moral issues: Loyalty to Ingroup: Whether or not someone did something to betray his or her group Whether or not someone’s action showed love for his or her country Hierarchy: Whether or not someone failed to fulfill the duties of his or her role Whether or not someone showed a lack of respect for authority Shweder et al, 1997; Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, MFQ, 2007

Ethic of Community violation examples: How much money would you need to be paid to be convinced to…  Say something slightly bad about your nation (which you don't believe to be true) while calling in, anonymously, to a talk-radio show in a foreign nation.  Slap your father in the face (with his permission) as part of a comedy skit. Haidt, 2007

Ethic of Community violation examples: How much money would you need to be paid to be convinced to…  Say something slightly bad about your nation (which you don't believe to be true) while calling in, anonymously, to a talk-radio show in a foreign nation.  Slap your father in the face (with his permission) as part of a comedy skit. Haidt, 2007

The Big Three: 3. Ethic of Divinity Issues of Sacred Order, Purity, Sanctity  Should not violate the natural, sacred order of things; should not violate the sanctity one’s body  Would consider the following to be moral issues: Purity: Whether or not someone violated standards of purity and decency Whether or not someone acted in a way that God would approve of Shweder et al, 1997; Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, MFQ, 2007

Ethic of Divinity violation example: How much money would you need to be paid to be convinced to…  Attend a performance art piece in which the actors act like animals for 30 min, including crawling around naked and urinating on stage. Haidt, 2007

Kohlberg versus Shweder Kohlberg’s 6 stages:  Moral reasoning: what kinds of reasons do you give?  Preconventional, Conventional, & Postconventional  Problems: May not be cross-culturally applicable, because focuses too narrowly on Ethic of Autonomy Shweder’s Big 3 Ethics:  Moral Concerns: What do you think is a moral concern?  Autonomy (harm & fairness), Community (loyalty & hierarchy), Divinity (purity & sacred order)

What happens when ethics conflict? Joan Miller  PhD University of Chicago  Now professor at New School for Social Research (NYC)  Studies Ethics of Autonomy vs. Ethic of Community in US and in India

A moral conundrum (Miller & Bersoff, 1992)

Your choices:

Why a moral conundrum? Must choose:  Violate your interpersonal obligation? (Community)  Violate rules of not harming an innocent person? (Autonomy) Asked Indian and American children & adults: what would be your choice?

Results for Adults: Percentage of adults who chose to protect Interpersonal obligation How undesirable the violations were

Miller & Bersoff, 1992 Moral Conundrum: summary Indian and American adults chose to resolve the conundrum differently.  Forced to choose, the Indian adults chose to follow Ethics of Community over Ethics of Autonomy more often than American adults did.  Conversely, the American adults chose to violate the interpersonal obligation more often than the Indian adults did.  = Cultural differences in the relative importance of these different Ethics

Are there universal moral concerns? Some moral concerns are not universally seen as important (e.g. Community and Divinity among liberal Americans) Given a conflict between these moral concerns, different cultures resolve them differently  But there is still debate about whether or not some or all of these Big 3 Ethics have an innate basis

How about this moral conundrum? There is a secret group of Seattleites who have the ritual practice of eating parts of their deceased relatives' bodies as part of elaborate funeral rituals. What do you feel when you read this? Which of the Big 3 Ethics are violated by the cannibals? Which of the Big 3 Ethics would be violated if you stopped the practice?  Conflict between ethics (Divinity & Autonomy, but also Community) Based on scenario in Kelly, Stich, Haley, Eng, Fessler 2007

Disgust: a natural moral emotion? Jonathan Haidt  University of Virginia Is Disgust a good reason to judge something to be immoral?

Disgust = immoral? Asked high and low Socio-Economic Status (SES) adults in USA and Brazil whether or not a disgusting but harmless action was “OK.”  (A man goes to the grocery store, buys a dead chicken, comes home… masturbates with it… cleans it thoroughly… and eats it. Suffers no harm whatsoever.) What percentage of respondents say it’s not OK? Haidt, Koller, & Dias, 1993

Disgust = Immoral? Not so much for High-SES Americans, but more so for all other groups: Haidt, Koller, & Dias, 1993

Disgust = Immoral? So, high-SES Americans (college students) generally think that a disgusting but harmless action is not morally wrong.  They don’t think that the feeling of disgust is a good reason to think something’s wrong. But… what do they REALLY believe…?

Hypnotized Disgust Hypnotized Disgust (Wheatley & Haidt, 2005)  Participants hypnotized: “When you read the word “often,” you will feel a brief pang of disgust... a sickening feeling in your stomach. You will not remember that you have been told this.”  After being brought out of hypnosis, students given several different scenarios to read  Asked to rate how immoral the person was, from 0 to 100

Hypnotized disgust: example Congressman Arnold Paxton frequently gives speeches condemning corruption and arguing for campaign finance reform. But he is just trying to cover up the fact that he himself [will take bribes from/is often bribed by] the tobacco lobby, and other special interests, to promote their legislation. (often = feel disgust)

Hypnotized disgust What if there was no reason at all to think the person was immoral?

Hypnotized disgust: no-violation example ‘‘Dan is a student council representative at his school. This semester he is in charge of scheduling discussions about academic issues. He [tries to take/often picks] topics that appeal to both professors and students in order to stimulate discussion.’’ (often = feel disgust)

Hypnotized Disgust: Why is Dan immoral?  ‘‘It just seems like he’s up to something.’’  “He’s a popularity-seeking snob.’’  ‘‘It just seems so weird and disgusting’’  “I don’t know [why it’s wrong], it just is.”

Disgust = Immoral? Summary For liberal college students, disgust isn’t a good reason to think something is wrong… …but it still makes them feel like something’s wrong.

So, do we use emotions or reasoning? Haidt argues that we more often first have an emotional response, which actually tells us whether or not something is morally wrong. Then we will try to come up with the reasons for our feelings. Disgust is a particularly powerful moral emotion; even works on people who don’t think it’s a good reason.

Is disgust biologically wired? Evolutionary advantages:  Incest  Cannibalism Social constructions:  Wearing Adolf Hitler’s sweater  Burning the American flag

Moral Judgments and culture Are there universal stages of moral reasoning?  Preconventional and Conventional (Kohlberg) Is there universal agreement on what are the most important moral principles?  Community, Autonomy, and Divinity (Shweder) Do we use our emotions or reasoning to make moral judgments?  Emotions, although reasoning is involved