I think I’d agree that most humans share roughly the same set of inputs to that architecture: hit most people on the head, and they’re likely to feel pain; humiliate them, and they’re likely to feel embarrassment. I doubt that the relative weightings of these traits are likely to remain identical between individuals, but if you factor that out I think we have a human commonality that I could get behind.
I suspect we’d differ in our opinion of acculturation’s role in defining certain categories (the pain of animals, for example) as morally significant, though. That strikes me as a level or two above anything I’d be comfortable calling a human universal.
I think I’d agree that most humans share roughly the same set of inputs to that architecture: hit most people on the head, and they’re likely to feel pain; humiliate them, and they’re likely to feel embarrassment.
I note that humans can empathise with pains they do not themselves feel.
I suspect we’d differ in our opinion of acculturation’s role in defining certain categories (the pain of animals, for example) as morally significant, though. That strikes me as a level or two above anything I’d be comfortable calling a human universal.
Well, yeah. It’s not the greatest example, I suppose. How about racism? That’s usually my go-to for this sort of thing. I kill Jews because Jews are parasites that undermine civilization; you kill Nazis because they murder innocent people.
How about “moral architecture”?
I think I’d agree that most humans share roughly the same set of inputs to that architecture: hit most people on the head, and they’re likely to feel pain; humiliate them, and they’re likely to feel embarrassment. I doubt that the relative weightings of these traits are likely to remain identical between individuals, but if you factor that out I think we have a human commonality that I could get behind.
I suspect we’d differ in our opinion of acculturation’s role in defining certain categories (the pain of animals, for example) as morally significant, though. That strikes me as a level or two above anything I’d be comfortable calling a human universal.
Moral architecture sounds good.
I note that humans can empathise with pains they do not themselves feel.
Well, yeah. It’s not the greatest example, I suppose. How about racism? That’s usually my go-to for this sort of thing. I kill Jews because Jews are parasites that undermine civilization; you kill Nazis because they murder innocent people.
EDIT: I’m not actually Nazi, obviously.