The Emotional Construction of MoralsJesse Prinz argues that recent work in philosophy, neuroscience, and anthropology supports two radical hypotheses about the nature of morality: moral values are based on emotional responses, and these emotional responses are inculcated by culture, not hard-wired through natural selection. In the first half of the book, Jesse Prinz defends the hypothesis that morality has an emotional foundation. Evidence from brain imaging, social psychology, and psychopathology suggest that, when we judge something to be right or wrong, we are merely expressing our emotions. Prinz argues that these emotions do not track objective features of reality; rather, the rightness and wrongness of an act consists in the fact that people are disposed to have certain emotions towards it. In the second half of the book, he turns to a defence of moral relativism. Moral facts depend on emotional responses, and emotional responses vary from culture to culture. Prinz surveys the anthropological record to establish moral variation, and he draws on cultural history to show how attitudes toward practices such as cannibalism and marriage change over time. He also criticizes evidence from animal behaviour and child development that has been taken to support the claim that moral attitudes are hard-wired by natural selection. Prinz concludes that there is no single true morality, but he also argues that some moral values are better than others; moral progress is possible. Throughout the book, Prinz relates his views to contemporary and historical work in philosophical ethics. His views echo themes in the writings of David Hume and Friedrich Nietzsche, but Prinz supports, extends, and revises these classic theories using the resources of cutting-edge cognitive science. The Emotional Construction of Morals will stimulate and challenge anyone who is curious about the nature and origin of moral values. |
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action anger argue argument attitudes Aztecs behavior beliefs biological bodily cannibalism cause chapter Christian claim cognitive colors consequentialist consider contempt context cultural depend descriptive relativism disapprobation disgust dispositions emotional responses emotionist emotivism entail epistemic emotionism ethics evidence evolutionary evolved example express expressivism expressivists extramoral feel female circumcision grounding norms guilt harm hidden indexical human Hume Hume's Law ideal observer theory incest innate intuitions Kant Kantian killing kind marriage meta-emotions metaethical monogamy moral concepts moral debates moral emotions moral facts moral judgments moral properties moral relativism moral rules moral sentiments moral terms moral values morally wrong motivation natural Nietzsche non-moral normative ethical objective person philosophical polygyny Psychology psychopaths question reason reciprocal altruism reciprocate relativist sadness secondary qualities semantic sense sensibility theory sexual social societies someone stealing subjects suggests Suppose theorists things traits truth University Press violations virtue virtue ethics virtue theory women