Social psychological voices from the past

Neil J. MacKinnon

Chapter 5 in The Social Psychology of Morality, 2025, pp 59-72 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter compares Mead, Cooley, James, and McDougall on some of the issues in the study of morality identified in Chapter 1. For example, Mead proposed a normative definition of morality based on sociality, implying a social constructionist view of the origin of morality. Rejecting universal, normative definitions of morality, Cooley located the final arbiter of moral judgments in individual conscience, viewed as an interplay between rational deliberation and intuitive emotional response, and expanded the scope of morality to include both harmful actions and violations of conventional norms. James’ rejection of normative definitions of morality, his location of morality in the individual, and his emphasis on emotion and intuition in moral judgments resonate with Cooley but are contrary to Mead. Like Cooley and James, McDougall emphasizes the emotional nature of morality, and like Mead and Cooley, he emphasizes the social nature of self, equating moral conduct with social conduct.

Keywords: Morality; Emotion; Intuition; Rationality; Self (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035364732
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