Morality: definitions and issues

Neil J. MacKinnon

Chapter 1 in The Social Psychology of Morality, 2025, pp 1-19 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This introductory chapter begins by unfolding the concept of morality, distinguishing between normative and descriptive definitions and presenting two conflicting views on the importance of cultural values in defining the concept. The remainder of the chapter addresses the following important issues in the study of morality: scientific research versus moral philosophy (focusing on the possibilities of moral truth and value freedom); the scope of morality (whether restricted to harm, human rights, and justice or extended to dimensions of social convention such as purity, sanctity, and loyalty); the psychology of moral judgment (rationality versus intuition); the locus of morality (whether located only in individuals, in society as a whole, or dispersed across all levels of a society's social structure and culture); and the origin of morality (whether a product of biological evolution, social construction, or both).

Keywords: Morality; Moral judgment; Rationality; Intuition; Construction; Evolution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035364732
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