For what it’s worth, one idea I had as a result of our discussion was this:
We form lots of beliefs as a result of motivated reasoning
These beliefs are amenable to revision due to evidence, reason or (maybe) social pressure
Those beliefs that are largely resilient to these challenges are “moral foundations”
So philosophers like “pain is bad” as a moral foundation because we want to believe it + it is hard to challenge with evidence or reason. Laypeople probably have lots of foundational moral beliefs that don’t stand up as well to evidence or reason, but (perhaps) are equally attributable to motivated reasoning.
Social pressure is a bit iffy to include because I think lots of people relate to beliefs that they adopted because of social pressure as moral foundations, and believing something because you’re under pressure to do so is an instance of motivated reasoning.
I don’t think this is a response to your objections, but I’m leaving it here in case it interests you.
For what it’s worth, one idea I had as a result of our discussion was this:
We form lots of beliefs as a result of motivated reasoning
These beliefs are amenable to revision due to evidence, reason or (maybe) social pressure
Those beliefs that are largely resilient to these challenges are “moral foundations”
So philosophers like “pain is bad” as a moral foundation because we want to believe it + it is hard to challenge with evidence or reason. Laypeople probably have lots of foundational moral beliefs that don’t stand up as well to evidence or reason, but (perhaps) are equally attributable to motivated reasoning.
Social pressure is a bit iffy to include because I think lots of people relate to beliefs that they adopted because of social pressure as moral foundations, and believing something because you’re under pressure to do so is an instance of motivated reasoning.
I don’t think this is a response to your objections, but I’m leaving it here in case it interests you.