Everyday Ethics

A currently popular trend in moral psychology is the attempt to incorporate empirical findings about moral decision making with our efforts to construct solid moral theory. This makes some sense. If we are going to try and give people a theoretical basis for making moral decisions, we should probably know something about how moral choices are made. However, a puzzling question has emerged from this, one which cuts to the core of moral philosophy.

Many of the empirical studies being considered have pointed to a rather disturbing fact for the moral philosopher. Apparently, most people make moral decisions subconsciously and with a heavy dose of emotions involved. The idea that moral theory can be useful is thus somewhat suspect, because if our moral decisions are simply intuitive responses and emotional reactions, what use is a theory that bases morality on reasons and calculated decision making?

Jonathan Haidt, a professor at the University of Virginia, has considered this data and developed a theory known as social intuitionism. According to Haidt, morality is essentially a socially prescribed set of moral norms that are learned and reinforced through interpersonal relationships and internalized by the agent. Reason, according to Haidt, is strictly post hoc, meaning that people use reasons to explain why they acted in a particular way after they have already done it. Reasoning plays no apparent role in our moral decision-making process.

Haidt’s view, although capable of accounting for the claims of empirical psychology, draws somewhat rash and unjustified conclusions regarding the role of reason in moral decision-making. However, our purpose is to ponder an important question that emerges from Haidt’s work, one that is significant to our practice of everyday ethics. If morality is an intuitive, emotional endeavor, is it possible to learn to be moral?

This is a significant question, because the problem of moral skepticism has long troubled moral philosophers. The moral skeptic is someone who either doubts that morality exists, or worse, recognizes moral rules but sees no reason to comply with them. If it turns out that we can teach the skeptic to be moral, the problem presented by this figure is somewhat diffused.

Our own personal experience and simple reasonableness suggest that we can learn to be moral. After all, most children seem to have similar moral views to those of their parents. This is the case with children who are adopted, as well as biological children, so we know that this connection is not strictly genetic. Further, many of us have done something that was not morally appropriate, experienced negative consequences, and changed our behavior as a result. If this does not qualify as learned behavior, I am not sure what would.

The key point with regard to everyday ethics is that, if we can learn to be moral, perhaps we ought to make some effort to do so. This can be done in a number of ways. As mentioned above, we can learn from our mistakes. Everyday ethics says that the world is both your teacher and your classroom. It would be silly to suggest that this is the case, but deny that we have anything to learn from how we live our moral lives.

In addition, we can also learn by copying the morally right actions of others. Moral exemplars like Mother Teresa and Gandhi are fine, but most of us know someone locally, a friend, teacher, or parent, who is a morally exceptional person. We can learn to be moral by simply observing what they do, and acting in a similar way. Over time, we may come to appreciate why they act as they do, developing the genuineness that makes our moral acts that much more praiseworthy.

Although we are not sure what to make of Haidt, empirical psychology, or social intuitionism, it seems clearly true that we can learn to be moral. To the student of everyday ethics, this is unsurprising. Our world is constantly giving us information about what we ought to do, and by reminding ourselves of how important it is to listen, we are better prepared to receive the message.

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Bowling Green, Ohio with his wife Laura, his newborn son Brandon, and his feline life-partner Monte.