morality is nothing but a useful proxy for boundedly rational agents to act in the interest of the society they are part of
I feel like there’s truth in this, but it also leaves a lot unanswered. For example, what are the “interests of society”? Are they constructed too? Or: if someone faces a moral dilemma, and they’re trying to figure out the right thing to do, the psychologically relevant factors may include a sense of duty or responsibility. What is that? Is it a “basic impulse”? And so on.
Yeah, I was a bit vague there, definitely worth going deeper. One would start comparing societies that survive/thrive with those that do not, and compare prevailing ethics and how it responds to the external and internal changes. Basically “moral philosophy” would be more useful as a descriptive observational science, not a prescriptive one. I guess in that sense it is more like decision theory. And yes, it interfaces with psychology, education and what not.
I feel like there’s truth in this, but it also leaves a lot unanswered. For example, what are the “interests of society”? Are they constructed too? Or: if someone faces a moral dilemma, and they’re trying to figure out the right thing to do, the psychologically relevant factors may include a sense of duty or responsibility. What is that? Is it a “basic impulse”? And so on.
Yeah, I was a bit vague there, definitely worth going deeper. One would start comparing societies that survive/thrive with those that do not, and compare prevailing ethics and how it responds to the external and internal changes. Basically “moral philosophy” would be more useful as a descriptive observational science, not a prescriptive one. I guess in that sense it is more like decision theory. And yes, it interfaces with psychology, education and what not.