an online book by David Gurteen
Morals are shared cultural norms and values that guide individuals on how to behave in society. These norms are shaped by social, emotional, and intuitive factors and are based on ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, and justice. Morals vary across cultures and communities.
Morality (from Latin moralitas 'manner, character, proper behavior') is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness", "appropriateness" or "rightness".
Moral philosophy includes meta-ethics, which studies abstract issues such as moral ontology and moral epistemology, and normative ethics, which studies more concrete systems of moral decision-making such as deontological ethics and consequentialism. An example of normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule, which states: "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."
Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e. opposition to that which is good or right), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any particular set of moral standards and/or principles.
Credit: Wikipedia - moralsIn this book, Moral Courage, Rushworth Kidder reveals that moral courage is the bridge between talking ethics and doing ethics. Defining it as a readiness to endure danger for the sake of principle, he explains that the courage to act is found at the intersection of three elements: action based on core values, awareness of the … Continue reading Moral Courage Rushworth M. Kidder (2006)
My research examines the intuitive foundations of morality. I have found that moral reasoning is generally done post-hoc, to search for confirmation of our fast, automatic intuitive responses. I am therefore skeptical of the power of reasoning to bring us to the right conclusions, particularly when self-interest or reputational concerns are in play. I therefore … Continue reading Moral Reasoning Is Generally Done Post-hoc Jonathan Haidt
In this book, The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt shows how moral judgments arise not from reason but from gut feelings. He shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and he shows why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns. Credit: Amazon The Righteous Mind … Continue reading The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt (2013)
Gurteen Knowledge Blog April 1, 2023, 11:12I am currently reading The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Jonathan is a social psychologist and author known for his research on moral psychology, political psychology, and the psychology of religion. It is an insightful and thought-provoking book in which Jonathan sheds light on why we hold different moral beliefs … Continue reading Anyone Who Values Truth Should Stop Worshiping Reason The Righteous Mind
There’s more to morality than harm and fairness. Credit: Jonathan Haidt Posts where this quotation is embedded Benjamin Franklin’s Junto Club Benjamin Franklin founded the Junto Club – a conversational society in 1727 Discrediting People ** Cause them to lose the respect or trust of others Global Consciousness The capacity and disposition to understand and act upon global … Continue reading There’s More to Morality Than Harm and Fairness Jonathan Haidt (2012)
Morals are values. They are a set of principles that help us evaluate and distinguish right from wrong, good from bad for ourselves and society. What are morals? Morals are values. They are a set of principles that help us evaluate and distinguish right from wrong, good from bad for ourselves and society. They are … Continue reading What Are Morals? Principles of right or wrong behaviour
Polarization of opinions is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and is creating both unrest at the societal level as well as conflict within small groups with different views. We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides. We fail to communicate with each other and treat people with conflicting beliefs as our enemies. … Continue reading Opinion Polarization We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides
Our beliefs are deeply rooted and are based on little evidence, yet we argue and fight over them. It is essential that we better understand the nature of our beliefs and how they are formed and learn to question and revise them. Our beliefs We are polarized across political, religious, moral, and racial divides. At … Continue reading Rethinking Our Beliefs It is not easy to change our beliefs
Agency is our ability to make intentional choices and act independently, shaping our lives and identities. The challenge is transitioning from acquiring knowledge to actively using it in the real world. We need to embrace the dynamic nature of agency to turn knowledge into impactful actions and decisions. What is Agency? Agency (or human agency) … Continue reading From Knowledge to Agency Developing agency in a changing world – cultivating the capacity to act
