MORAL PSYCHOLOGY

'Moral psychology' is a field of study in both philosophy and psychology. Historically, psychologists interested in moral psychology have carried out empirical research on the ways in which people make decisions about issues that raise moral concerns. For example, the psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg questioned boys and young men about their thought processes when they were faced with a moral dilemma. In contrast, philosophers historically tended to ignore the results of empirical reseach and study theoretical issues to do with ethics, action and psychology. When Plato, in ''The Republic'', asked questions about what could motivate a person to act morally, he was asking a questions about moral psychology. In recent years, many philosophers working on moral psychology take the results of research in psychology and neuroscience seriously.
The subjects covered by moral psychology include:

★ action

★ Agency (philosophy)

★ Identity

★ Moral commitment

★ Altruism

★ Human character

★ Ethical temperament

★ Standards of evaluation for moral action

★ Moral luck

★ Standards of personal moral success

★ The structure of action

★ Perceived causes and events of moral action

★ The role of emotions in morality

★ The faculties of the mind involved in moral decision

★ The interaction of those faculties and the emotions

★ Rationality in moral matters

★ Moral judgement

★ The relationship between ethics and moral action

★ The means by which moral agents understand each other

Contents

See Also

References

See Also

★ Carol Gilligan

★ Kohlberg's stages of moral development

References

★ Kohlberg, Lawrence.

★ Plato. ''The Republic''.