Philosophers have discussed virtue and character since socrates, but many traditional views have been challenged by recent findings in psychology and neuroscience. In early modern europe, hume, kant, and mill continued these themes. In chapter ii, i criticize several opponents of moral dilemmas, including utilitarians, kant, aquinas, and ross. Walter sinnottarmstrong is chauncey stillman professor of practical ethics in the department of philosophy and the kenan institute for ethics at duke university. This book offers a survey of contemporary moral psychology.
Free will and moral responsibility by walter sinnottarmstrong editor in chm, doc, fb3 download e book. Pdf what can moral psychology and neuroscience contribute to moral philosophy. Walter sinnott armstrong is chauncey stillman professor of practical ethics at. In moral philosophy, fear of the socalled naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from incorporating developments in biology and psychology. Moores diatribe against the naturalistic fallacy in 1903 set the stage for most of twentiethcentury moral philosophy.
Moral psychology is a field of study in both philosophy and psychology. Walter sinnottarmstrong and christian miller have put together an excellent collection of original work on character and virtue, written by scholars in a broad. Traditional philosophers approached the issues of free will and moral responsibility through conceptual analysis that. Pdf sinnottarmstrongs empirical challenge to moral. The position he is maintaining is merely a psychological one. Does affirmative action place minority students in colleges where theyre likely to fail while depriving other applicants of the chance to attend the most challenging. Article information, pdf download for emotion and reliability in moral psychology, open epub for. His current work is on moral psychology and brain science as well as uses of neuroscience in legal systems. Leading philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists address issues of moral responsibility and free will, drawing on new findings from empirical science. Adaptations and innateness by walter sinnott armstrong editor in djvu, doc, fb3 download e book. He then defends his own theory that he calls moderate moral skepticism, which is that moral beliefs can be justified, but not extremely justified. More recently however, the term has come to refer more broadly to various topics at the intersection of ethics, psychology, and philosophy of mind. Walter sinnottarmstrong walter sinnottarmstrong is stillman professor of practical ethics in the philosophy department and the kenan institute for ethics at duke university. Intuition and diversity volume 2 a bradford book 9780262693578.
This article explains why it is useful to conceive moral dilemmas as unresolvable conflicts between moral requirements. Contemporary moral psychologythe study of human thought and behavior in. Walter sinnott armstrong is stillman professor of practical ethics in the philosophy department and the kenan institute for ethics at duke university. Operative principles and the causal structure of moral actions. For much of the 20th century, philosophy and science went their separate ways. Sinnottarmstrong here provides an extensive survey of the difficult subject of moral beliefs. He is core faculty in the duke center for cognitive neuroscience and has a secondary appointment in the duke law school. Virtue and character is a mustread for scholars working on virtue today, especially scholars who are interested in empirically informed moral psychology. It offers essays, commentaries, and replies by leading philosophers and scientists who explain and use empirical findings from psychology and neuroscience to illuminate virtue and character and related issues in moral. He covers theories that grapple with questions of morality such as naturalism, normativism, intuitionism, and coherentism. Sinnottarmstrong, walter, miller, christian b books.
This book offers a survey of contemporary moral psychology, integrating evidence and argument from philosophy and the human sciences. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain. Since the 1990s, however, many philosophers have drawn on recent advances in cognitive psychology, brain science, and evolutionary psychology to inform their work. He edited the previous volumes in moral psychology. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Social intuitionists answer six questions about moral psychology. This fifth volume of moral psychology grows out of this new wave of interdisciplinary work on virtue, vice, and character. Pdf what if everybody did that download read online free. He specializes in ethics, moral psychology, neuroethics, the philosophy of law, epistemology, the philosophy of religion, and informal logic. Well, its hard for me to say what it means, because i cant believe that people think that way. Miller, mit press this conception of humility carries over into the new testament where the act of being humbled is once again presented as a pathway to salvation. Walter sinnottarmstrong and christian miller have put together an excellent collection of original work on character and virtue, written by scholars in a broad range of disciplines.
John doris and the moral psychology research group, pp. Moral psychology by walter sinnottarmstrong overdrive. The chapters cover major issues in moral psychology, including moral reasoning, character, moral emotion, positive psychology, moral rules, the neural correlates of ethical judgment, and the attribution of moral responsibility. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in ethics and moral psychology today. Sinnott armstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cuttingedge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. In ancient times, plato and aristotle addressed many of the issues that still occupy moral psychologists, such as the conditions of responsibility and the roles of reason, emotion, and culture in moral judgments. Moral skepticism paperback walter sinnottarmstrong. This volume of moral psychology offers essays, commentaries, and replies by leading philosophers and scientists who explain and use empirical findings from psychology and neuroscience to illuminate old and new problems regarding free will and moral responsibility. Walter sinnottarmstrong s home page chauncey stillman. Dimensions of moral intuitions metaethics, epistemology and.
In moral philosophy, fear of the socalled naturalistic fallacy kept moral philosophers from. Gilbert harman, kelby mason, and walter sinnott armstrong 7. The moral psychology handbook offers a survey of contemporary moral psychology, integrating evidence and argument from philosophy and the human sciences. Topics include moral intuitions as a kind of fast and frugal heuristics, framing effects in moral judgments, an analogy between chomskys universal grammar and moral principles, the role of emotions in moral beliefs, moral disagreements, the semantics of moral language, and moral responsibility. Volume 3 by walter sinnottarmstrong, 9780262195645, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Walter sinnottarmstrong born 1955 is an american philosopher. Historically, the term moral psychology was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. Emotion and reliability in moral psychology walter sinnott. Moral dilemmas are resolvable if and only if one of the moral oughts overrides the other. Volume 4 by walter sinnottarmstrong, 9780262026680, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. He specializes in ethics, epistemology, and more recently in neuroethics, the philosophy of law, and the philosophy of cognitive science. Emotion, brain disorders, and development bradford books.
All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and. Instead of arguing about whether moral judgments are based on emotion or reason, moral. In the first section, i comment on an expectation about handbooks, namely that handbooks contain works representative of a field, and raise concerns about the moral psychology handbook in this regard. Provides a comprehensive introduction to moral psychology, which is the study of psychological mechanisms and processes underlying ethics and morality unique in. Sinnottarmstrong has a real talent for drawing together the cuttingedge researchers in the field, and letting them present their positions and challenge each other. This book offers a survey of contemporary moral psychology, integrating. Traditional philosophers approached the issues of free will and moral responsibility through conceptual analysis that seldom incorporated findings from empirical science. Walter sinnottarmstrong is an american philosopher. Dualprocess theories in moral psychology pp 1940 cite as. This fifth volume ofmoral psychologygrows out of this new wave of interdisciplinary work on virtue, vice, and character. Sinnottarmstrongs empirical challenge to moral intuitionism. These three substantial volumes cover many of the newer and more exciting issues being raised in. Walter sinnottarmstrong argues that god is not only not essential to morality, but that our moral behavior should be utterly independent of religion. Volumes 14 of this series focused on moral judgments about actions.
My main criticism is that no opponent of moral dilemmas can adequately justify moral residue. Topics include a version of naturalism that avoids supposed fallacies, distinct neurocomputational systems for deontic reasoning, the evolutionary psychology of moral sentiments regarding incest, the sexual selection of moral virtues, the evolution of symbolic thought, and. Gilbert harman, kelby mason, and walter sinnottarmstrong 7. The issues of free will and moral responsibility have received so much attention latelyboth from the academic community and the popular pressthat it can be difficult to find sources that approach these. Duke university and the editor of the previous volumes of moral. Pdf the disunity of morality and why it matters to philosophy. Historical and contemporary readings is the first book to bring together the most significant contemporary and historical works on the topic from both philosophy and psychology. Walter sinnott armstrong is chauncey stillman professor of practical ethics at duke university and the editor of the previous volumes of moral psychology, all published by the mit press.
He is also working on a book that will develop a contrastivist view of freedom and responsibility. Walter sinnottarmstrong has distinguished himself as a leading philosopher in his work on metaethics and moral psychology, as well as books on moral and epistemological skepticism, and in morality without god. Sure, the name philosophy derives from the greek for love of wisdom, but whats that. Endorsements this is an outstanding collection of work at the intersection between science and traditional approaches to moral responsibility and free will.
Moral intuitions 246 walter sinnottarmstrong, liane young, and fiery cushman 8. Railton, michael ruse, hagop sarkissian, walter sinnottarmstrong, chandra sekhar sripada, valerie tiberius. Walter sinnottarmstrong is stillman professor of practical ethics in the philosophy department and the kenan institute for ethics at duke university. Walter sinnott armstrong, moral dilemmas philpapers. Some argue that atheism must be false, since without god, no values are possible, and thus everything is permitted. He is the chauncey stillman professor of practical ethics in the department of philosophy and the kenan institute for ethics at duke university. Moral intuitions 246 walter sinnott armstrong, liane young, and fiery cushman 8. Recent research in cognitive and moral psychology suggests that our judgments and. A search query can be a title of the book, a name of the author, isbn or anything else. Moral psychology is a compilation of articles and arguments on the evolution of morality, where each article is accompanied by a few short rebuttals and a counterrebuttal. Moral intuitionism meets empirical psychology walter sinnottarmstrong. Free will and moral responsibility walter sinnottarmstrong ed.