Previous research has linked disgust sensitivity to negative attitudes toward gays and lesbians. We extend this existing research by examining the extent to which disgust sensitivity predicts attitudes more generally toward groups that threaten or uphold traditional sexual morality. In a sample of American adults (N = 236), disgust sensitivity (and particularly contamination disgust) predicted ...

The morality of human beings, defined here as our ability to determine whether our actions are right or wrong, depends not just on following rules but also on understanding the impact of our actions on another person. How we understand the impact of our actions on another person depends on our state of consciousness, which is mediated by our brain and nervous system. We describe how we understa...

This paper investigates the appropriateness of LP-based reasoning to machine ethics, an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that emerges from the need of imbuing autonomous agents with the capacity for moral decision making. The first contribution of the paper is that of identifying morality viewpoints, as studied in moral philosophy and psychology, which are amenable to computational modeling, ...

1871 saw the publication of two major treatises in economics, with self-seeking economic man at their center. In the same year Darwin published The Descent of Man, which emphasized sympathy and cooperation as well as self-interest, and contained a powerful argument that morality has evolved in humans by natural selection. Essentially this stance is supported by modern research. This paper consi...

Abstract: This research project has two parts. First, I argue that empathy is not necessary and not sufficient for morality. I use autistic individuals and individuals who suffer from psychopathy as my primary examples to show that empathy is not a significant source of morality. I review the literature in moral psychology and emotion research to show that emotions other than empathy, primarily...

Disgust, one of the six universally recognized emotions, plays an indispensible role in disease avoidance and morality. While previous studies have demonstrated its evolutionary significance and its role in pathogen resistance and morality, much remains unknown about how these findings could be applied to other areas of the social world. This paper reviews the relevant literature regarding the ...

Hesiod's Works and Days is undeniably a didactic poem. It is concerned with real problems of mankind. At a first glance it may seem as a practical guide to living and prospering in the Ancient Greek world. The title itself, along with the many parts of the poem that deal with practical issues can lead one to this conclusion. A more careful analysis, however, can show that Works and Days is more...

morality as somehow involving rationality and impartiality received classic expression in philosophy of kant who frankly speaks of “rational and impartial spectator” in contemplating the universal law. the overall aim of this paper is to show (1) that the idea of morality implies rationality and this will be reached at in refuting the moral scepticism; but (2) it does not necessarily indicates ...

Where does morality come from? Why are moral judgments often so similar across cultures, yet sometimes so variable? Is morality one thing, or many? Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) was created to answer these questions. In this chapter we describe the origins, assumptions, and current conceptualization of the theory, and detail the empirical findings that MFT has made possible, both within social...