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Welcome to the nexus of ethics, psychology, morality, technology, health care, and philosophy

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Motivated Moral Reasoning

By Peter H. Ditto, David A. Pizarro, and David Tannenbaum

Abstract

Moral judgments are important, intuitive, and complex. These factors make moral judgment particularly fertile ground for motivated reasoning. This chapter reviews research (both our own and that of others) examining two general pathways by which motivational forces can alter the moral implications of an act: by affecting perceptions of an actor’s moral accountability for the act, and by influencing the normative moral principles people rely on to evaluate the morality of the act. We conclude by discussing the implications of research on motivated moral reasoning for both classic and contemporary views of the moral thinker.

The entire chapter is here.

Thanks to Dave Pizarro for making this available.