Humanistic and Empirical Studies in Moral Psychology

Humanistic and Empirical Studies in Moral Psychology

Image of Jackson Pollock's famous splatter painting, Autumn Rhythm.

This interdisciplinary seminar at the Townsend Center drew together six faculty and graduate students studying the “moral emotions” – pride, shame, guilt, and anger – as well as related concepts and motivations, such as attributions of responsibility, altruism, self-interest, virtue, and character. These concepts and emotions lie not only at the heart of moral and political philosophy, but also psychology, education, sociology, and economics. The seminar pursued these subjects by looking at the intersection of research within these different disciplines, with each session introduced by one or more of the faculty conveners. Graduate student participants shared responsibility for presenting some material, and collaborated across disciplinary lines for the seminar projects.

Conveners
Christopher Kutz (Jurisprudence & Social Policy) and Robert MacCoun (Goldman School of Public Policy, Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program)
Participants
Kathryn Abrams (Boalt Hall School of Law), Alison Gopnik (Psychology), Anthony Long (Classics, Philosophy, and Rhetoric), and Jay Wallace (Philosophy)