A reason-based explanation for moral dumbfounding

Journal Title: Judgment and Decision Making - Year 2019, Vol 14, Issue 2

Abstract

The moral dumbfounding phenomenon for harmless taboo violations is often cited as a critical piece of empirical evidence motivating anti-rationalist models of moral judgment and decision-making. Moral dumbfounding purportedly occurs when an individual remains obstinately and steadfastly committed to a moral judgment or decision even after admitting inability to provide reasons and arguments to support it (Haidt, 2001). Early empirical support for the moral dumbfounding phenomenon led some philosophers and psychologists to suggest that affective reactions and intuitions, in contrast with reasons or reasoning, are the predominant drivers of moral judgments and decisions. We investigate an alternative reason-based explanation for moral dumbfounding: that putatively harmless taboo violations are judged to be morally wrong because of the high perceived likelihood that the agents could have caused harm, even though they did not cause harm in actuality. Our results indicate that judgments about the likelihood of causing harm consistently and strongly predicted moral wrongness judgments. Critically, a manipulation drawing attention to harms that could have occurred (but did not actually occur) systematically increased the severity of moral wrongness judgments. Thus, many participants were sensitive to at least one reason — the likelihood of harm — in making their moral judgments about these kinds of taboo violations. We discuss the implications of these findings for rationalist and anti-rationalist models of moral judgment and decision-making.

Authors and Affiliations

Matthew L. Stanley, Siyuan Yin and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong

Keywords

Related Articles

Perceptions of water systems

Public understanding of the water system is vital in confronting contemporary water challenges, as public support is necessary for implementing measures to address shortages and repair infrastructure. In this study, univ...

Does unconscious thought outperform conscious thought on complex decisions? A further examination

Two experiments examined the benefits of unconscious thought on complex decisions (Dijksterhuis, 2004). Experiment 1 attempted to replicate and extend past research by examining the effect of providing reasons prior to r...

“Lean not on your own understanding”: Belief that morality is founded on divine authority and non-utilitarian moral judgments

Recent research has shown that religious individuals are much more resistant to utilitarian modes of thinking than their less religious counterparts, but the reason for this is not clear. We propose that a meta-ethical b...

Aggregating multiple probability intervals to improve calibration

We apply the principles of the “Wisdom of Crowds (WoC)” to improve the calibration of interval estimates. Previous research has documented the significant impact of the WoC on the accuracy of point estimates but only a f...

Outcomes and expectations in dilemmas of trust

Rational trust decisions depend on potential outcomes and expectations of reciprocity. In the trust game, outcomes and expectations correspond to the structural factors of risk and temptation. Two experiments investigate...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP678403
  • DOI -
  • Views 260
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Matthew L. Stanley, Siyuan Yin and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (2019). A reason-based explanation for moral dumbfounding. Judgment and Decision Making, 14(2), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-678403