Caring about morality : philosophical perspectives in moral psychology
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Caring about morality : philosophical perspectives in moral psychology
Routledge, 1991
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Note
Bibliography: p. 177-189
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This study offers a critique of the philosophical assumptions that underlie the psychological and motivational aspects of morality. The book begins with an examination of behaviourism and social learning theory and moves onto the more cognitive approaches of post-Freudian and cognitive developmental theories of moral experience. The author argues that each of the psychological theories discussed embodies a tacit but distinctive meta-ethical perspective on the nature of moral judgement and what he calls "moral care" - the general tendency to think of reality in moral terms. This general disposition is, he contends, conceptually distinct from "moral motives" such as benevolence or loyalty. The distinction between both motivational tendencies is drawn differently within each of the psychological theories explored in the book, with results that are themselves subjected to the test, by the author, as to whether they can be accepted in good faith by men and women who are not only theorists but also moral agents. The book concludes with a call for moral psychologists to look more closely at the self-interpretative way in which people judge their own activities.
This book is intended to be of use to advanced level students in moral philosophy and psychology.
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