http://www.polipsych.com/2010/06/15/what-can-psychology-tell-us-about-moral-reasoning-that-literature-humanities-cannot/ Exploring Political Attitudes Through Moral Psychology Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:25:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.polipsych.com/2010/06/15/what-can-psychology-tell-us-about-moral-reasoning-that-literature-humanities-cannot/comment-page-1/#comment-532 Kitsune Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:21:59 +0000 http://www.polipsych.com/?p=225#comment-532 While it would be an all too common mistake to think that so much as a belief is useful that it must also be true, it seems that when you are dealing with something incredibly complex that the most useful beliefs are also going to tend to be true ones. I will judge the usefulness of Moral Psychology by its ability to engineer moral technology, technology that helps us live more moral lives. So far education about general psychology (defense mechanisms, etc.) and social psychology (the fundamental attribution error, the diffusion of responsibility, etc.) seem to be doing alright. But until a true "moral intervention" exists (not indoctrination or brainwashing), I won't be overly impressed by the state of Moral Education. If what it claims is true, then why is it so incredibly helpless and powerless? Knowledge is useful. A theory that leaves us helpless is about as trustworthy to me as a theory that isn't falsifiable. While it would be an all too common mistake to think that so much as a belief is useful that it must also be true, it seems that when you are dealing with something incredibly complex that the most useful beliefs are also going to tend to be true ones. I will judge the usefulness of Moral Psychology by its ability to engineer moral technology, technology that helps us live more moral lives. So far education about general psychology (defense mechanisms, etc.) and social psychology (the fundamental attribution error, the diffusion of responsibility, etc.) seem to be doing alright. But until a true “moral intervention” exists (not indoctrination or brainwashing), I won’t be overly impressed by the state of Moral Education. If what it claims is true, then why is it so incredibly helpless and powerless? Knowledge is useful. A theory that leaves us helpless is about as trustworthy to me as a theory that isn’t falsifiable.

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