Your Moral Compass Could Be Broken
Morality might seem like a compass needle, always guiding us north, but as we start to add information and context that trigger biases, the needle begins to spin.
Context Matters
- Although we might believe that our own moral principles are unwavering, we typically don’t apply them objectively across the actions of both loved ones and strangers.
- Moral cognition depends hugely on context
- We may say adultery is wrong, but if it’s a friend who we know well, who had a troubled marriage, maybe we are more forgiving.
- Similarly, we say stealing is wrong but we might be more understanding of our favorite politician when they’re caught lining their pockets.
Man has a need for social bonds
Morality has evolved with our species because of humans’ practical and psychological need for social bonds
- Even early human societies codified morality into laws and norms that were meant to be applied universally
- The moral judgments we make about close associates are more forgiving and nuanced than those we make of strangers
- When we examine the moral judgments of others, it’s tempting to think that we live in different worlds, but there’s only one.
Negotiating social interactions
Learning about the psychology that drives that experience for individuals will help us negotiate complex social interactions
- Clarifying the value that you are consulting for a particular problem is really critical.
- We’re all connected in some way. Between any two people in the world, there’s some common value or experience. Finding that commonality could be the best path towards a more morally-consistent world.