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The sense of moral obligation facilitates information agency and culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2020

Heather M. Maranges Open the ORCID record for Heather M. Maranges [Opens in a new window] ,
Roy F. Baumeister  and
Kathleen D. Vohs
Heather M. Maranges
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL32306; School of Psychology. [email protected] Concordia University, Montreal, QCH4B 1R6, Canada
Roy F. Baumeister
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 407, Australia. [email protected]://www.roybaumeister.com
Kathleen D. Vohs
Affiliation:
Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455. [email protected]://carlsonschool.umn.edu/faculty/kathleen-vohs
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Abstract

Tomasello argues that humans’ sense of moral obligation emerges early in development, relies on a shared “we,” and serves as the foundation of cooperation. This perspective complements our theoretical view of the human self as information agent. The shared “we” promotes not only proximal cooperative goals but also distal ones via the construction of shared understanding – it promotes culture.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e78
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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