Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T01:36:51.217Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Defending optimistic rationalism: A reply to commentators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2019

Joshua May Open the ORCID record for Joshua May [Opens in a new window]
Joshua May*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 35294-1260. [email protected]://www.joshdmay.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In response, I elaborate on my conception of moral reasoning, as well as clarify the structure of debunking arguments and how my cautious optimism is only of the “glass half full” sort. I also explain how rationalism can capture insights purportedly only explained by sentimentalist and Humean views. The reply concludes by clarifying and admitting some limits of the book's scope.

Type
Author's Response
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 42 , 2019 , e168
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Cameron, C. D., Payne, B. K., Sinnott-Armstrong, W., Scheffer, J. A. & Inzlicht, M. (2017) Implicit moral evaluations: A multinomial modeling approach. Cognition 158:224–41.Google Scholar
Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (1992) Cognitive adaptions for social exchange. In: The adapted mind, ed. Barkow, J., Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J., pp. 163–228. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cummins, D. D. (1996) Evidence of deontic reasoning in 3- and 4-year-old children. Memory and Cognition 24(6):823–29.Google Scholar
Demaree-Cotton, J. (2016) Do framing effects make moral intuitions unreliable? Philosophical Psychology 29(1):1–22.Google Scholar
Doris, J. M. (2015) Talking to our selves: Reflection, ignorance, and agency. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Frederick, S. (2005) Cognitive reflection and decision making. Journal of Economic Perspectives 19:25–42.Google Scholar
Gigerenzer, G. (2008) Gut feelings: The intelligence of the unconscious. Penguin.Google Scholar
Gopnik, A. (2012) Scientific thinking in young children: Theoretical advances, empirical research, and policy implications. Science 337(6102):1623–27.Google Scholar
Graham, J., Haidt, J., Koleva, S., Motyl, M., Iyer, R., Wojcik, S. P. & Ditto, P. H. (2013) Moral foundations theory: The pragmatic validity of moral pluralism. In: Advances in experimental social psychology, vol. 47, ed. Devine, P. & Plant, A., pp. 55–130. Academic Press.Google Scholar
Graham, J., Haidt, J. & Nosek, B. A. (2009) Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96(5):1029–46.Google Scholar
Greene, J. D. (2013) Moral tribes: Emotion, reason, and the gap between us and them. Penguin.Google Scholar
Greene, J. D. (2014) Beyond point-and-shoot morality: Why cognitive (neuro)science matters for ethics. Ethics 124(4):695–726.Google Scholar
Hawthorne, J. & Stanley, J. (2008) Knowledge and action. Journal of Philosophy 105(10):571–90.Google Scholar
Horne, Z. & Livengood, J. (2017) Ordering effects, updating effects, and the specter of global skepticism. Synthese 194(4):1189–218.Google Scholar
Joyce, R. (2006) The evolution of morality. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Kahan, D. M., Peters, E., Wittlin, M., Slovic, P., Ouellette, L. L., Braman, D. & Mandel, G. (2012) The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks. Nature Climate Change 2(6): 732–35.Google Scholar
Kahane, G., Everett, J. A. C., Earp, B. D., Farias, M. & Savulescu, J. (2015) “Utilitarian” judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good. Cognition 134(C):193–209.Google Scholar
Korsgaard, C. M. (1996a) Creating the kingdom of ends. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kühberger, A. (1998) The influence of framing on risky decisions: A meta-analysis. Organizational behavior and human decision processes 75(1):23–55.Google Scholar
Kumar, V. & May, J. (2019) How to debunk moral beliefs. In: Methodology and moral philosophy, ed. Suikkanen, J. & Kauppinen, A., pp. 25–48. Routledge.Google Scholar
Kunda, Z. (1990) The case for motivated reasoning. Psychological Bulletin 108(3):480–98.Google Scholar
Locke, D. (2015) Practical certainty. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 90(1):72–95.Google Scholar
Madva, A. (2016) A Plea for anti-anti-individualism: How oversimple psychology misleads social policy. Ergo 3(27):701–728.Google Scholar
Manne, K. (2017) Down girl: The logic of misogyny. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Marshall, C. (2018) Compassionate moral realism. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
May, J. (2013b) Skeptical hypotheses and moral skepticism. Canadian Journal of Philosophy 43(3):341–59.Google Scholar
May, J. (2018) Regard for reason in the moral mind. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mikhail, J. (2011) Elements of moral cognition. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Nichols, S. (2004) Sentimental rules: On the natural foundations of moral judgment. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nichols, S., Kumar, S., Lopez, T., Ayars, A. & Chan, H. Y. (2016) Rational learners and moral rules. Mind and Language 31(5):530–54.Google Scholar
Prinz, J. (2007) The emotional construction of morals. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Railton, P. (2017) Moral learning: Conceptual foundations and normative relevance. Cognition 167:172–90.Google Scholar
Rini, R. A. (2016) Debunking debunking: A regress challenge for psychological threats to moral judgment. Philosophical Studies 173(3):675–97.Google Scholar
Scanlon, T. (1998) What we owe to each other. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Singer, P. (2005) Ethics and intuitions. The Journal of Ethics 9:331–52.Google Scholar
Summers, J. S. (2017) Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Some benefits of rationalization. Philosophical Explorations 20(suppl. 1):21–36.Google Scholar
Thomson, K. S. & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2016) Investigating an alternate form of the cognitive reflection test. Judgment and Decision Making 11(1): 99–113.Google Scholar
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1981) The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science 211(4481):453–58.Google Scholar
Yang, Q., Yan, L., Luo, J., Li, A., Zhang, Y., Tian, X. & Zhang, D. (2013) Temporal dynamics of disgust and morality. PLOS ONE 8:e65094.Google Scholar
Zheng, R. (2018) What is my role in changing the system? Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 21(4):869–85.Google Scholar
Zimmerman, A. (2010) Moral epistemology. Routledge.Google Scholar