A moral divide: why progressives and conservatives don’t get each other
Every person has a different idea of wrong and right. This can be called morality. What we consider acceptable depends on many factors: our beliefs, our culture, our parents’ norms, our childhood traumas, etc.therefore, we all have unique moral values. This doesn’t mean we can’t just do whatever we want in the middle of the street. Some things would be really weird. Some things even unethical.
Hence, morality focuses on individual values, ethics considers the broader impact of actions on society. Ok. So our moral compass helps us find the sweet spot between our own standards and those of society. This seems rather abstract. So how can we better understand morality? jonathan Haidt founded his moral foundations theory in the ’90s. This model uses 5 (or 6) dimensions (foundations) to identify which values guide us in our behaviour and decision-making.
Take disgusting things, like some unconventional sexual acts. You can come up with specific examples yourself. At first, we instinctively say a disgusting action would be immoral. However, upon reflection, we realise that this action doesn’t cause any harm. It might lack taste, but that doesn’t mean it’s immoral.
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