Moral Psychology
Edited by Joshua May (University of Alabama, Birmingham)
About this topic
Summary | Moral psychology is the study of phenomena such as moral thought, feeling, reasoning, and motivation. For example, in moral psychology, one wonders what role reasoning and emotions play in generating moral judgment. Similarly, one asks whether moral motivation has its source in reason or rather sentiments or desire. Other key issues include: the tight connection between moral judgment and motivation, altruism versus egoism, character, and even the evolution of moral capacities. The topics reveal the partly empirical nature of the field, which makes it of necessity interdisciplinary, even though one can pursue many interesting issue from the armchair. Many of these philosophical problems have ramifications in others areas, especially metaethics. If, for example, moral judgment is grounded in sentiment, then this may support a non-cognitivists theory, which threatens moral realism. |
Key works | Issues in moral psychology have been dominant in the history of philosophy. Nadelhoffer et al 2010 provide a collection of key historical as well as contemporary readings. Focusing on more recent work, Smith's 1994 book has been highly influential in the literature, from moral judgment to motivation. Compare also Nagel 1970 and Korsgaard 1996. On the empirical side, Sinnott-Armstrong 2008 provides a comprehensive state of the art with three volumes full of new articles and replies from prominent philosophers and scientists. |
Introductions | A brief introduction to some topics in moral psychology is in Slote 1998. Rosati's (2006) entry on moral motivation provides an introduction to one cluster of key issues in moral psychology. For a way into the empirical work, see Doris & Stich 2008, May 2017, and Doris 2010. |
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Related categories
Subcategories: See also:
Ethics and Cognitive Science (2,135 | 561)
Evolution of Morality (1,108)
Neuroscience of Ethics (170)
Neuroethics* (2,544 | 1,547)
Psychology of Ethics (195)
Skepticism about Character* (208)
Moral Character (3,357 | 1,082)
Amoralists* (86)
Authenticity (352)
Integrity (675)
Moral Sainthood (32)
Personality (218)
Virtues and Vices (566)
Virtue Ethics* (2,161 | 384)
Wisdom* (387)
Moral Character, Misc (109)
Moral Education (318)
Moral Enhancement (19)
Moral Judgment* (1,105 | 305)
Moral Reasoning and Motivation* (1,704 | 329)
Moral States and Processes (8,502 | 2,074)
Alienation (70)
Anger (222)
Blame (62)
Boredom (59)
Courage (130)
Cruelty (7)
Deception* (369 | 70)
Disgust (94)
Emotions* (7,493 | 3,338)
Empathy and Sympathy (683)
Envy (91)
Forgiveness (181)
Gratitude (142)
Guilt and Shame (183)
Happiness (1,136)
Honesty* (115 | 1)
Hope (558)
Hypocrisy (76)
Jealousy (84)
Kindness (30)
Philosophy of Love* (1,411 | 751)
Moral Deliberation (46)
Moral Imagination (185)
Moral Intuition (87)
Moral Perception (88)
Moral Phenomenology (78)
Pessimism (48)
Pride (99)
Resentment (42)
Schadenfreude (17)
Self-Deception (423)
Tolerance (50)
Trust (1,163)
Moral Psychology, Misc (744)
- Moral Epistemology (2,336 | 202)
- Practical Reason (5,370 | 296)
- Free Will (10,158 | 257)
- Moral Responsibility (3,148 | 735)
- Experimental Philosophy: Ethics (721 | 24)
- Plato: Moral Psychology (154)
- Hobbes: Moral Psychology (95)
- Hume: Moral Psychology (104)
- Kant: Moral Psychology (497 | 126)
- Nietzsche: Moral Psychology (42)
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Editorial team
General Editors:
David Bourget (Western Ontario) David Chalmers (ANU, NYU) Area Editors: David Bourget Gwen Bradford Berit Brogaard Margaret Cameron David Chalmers James Chase Rafael De Clercq Ezio Di Nucci Esa Diaz-Leon Barry Hallen Hans Halvorson Jonathan Ichikawa Michelle Kosch Øystein Linnebo JeeLoo Liu Paul Livingston Brandon Look Manolo Martínez Matthew McGrath Michiru Nagatsu Susana Nuccetelli Giuseppe Primiero Jack Alan Reynolds Darrell P. Rowbottom Aleksandra Samonek Constantine Sandis Howard Sankey Jonathan Schaffer Thomas Senor Robin Smith Daniel Star Jussi Suikkanen Aness Kim Webster Other editors Contact us Learn more about PhilPapers |