Moral Intuitionism
Updated 2026-08-02
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A position in moral psychology and ethics. In its psychological form, associated with Jonathan Haidt's social intuitionist model, it holds that moral judgments are produced by fast, automatic intuitions and that reasoning typically justifies a judgment already made. In its ethical form, associated with G. E. Moore and others, it holds that basic moral truths are self-evident and grasped directly. Both versions challenge the rationalist view that reasoning drives judgment.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Check the order: ask whether the judgment arrived before or after the reasons you gave - Use shared intuitions: start debates from moral reactions both sides already have - Probe the mechanism: ask what is doing the work when a reaction feels self-evident
Anchor fast decisions
Moral reactions are produced by fast affective processes that respond to social situations before deliberation begins. Reasoning then arrives with the conclusion already formed and works backward to justify it. The resulting sense of having reasoned to the judgment is genuine in experience but does not reflect the actual order of operations.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_intuitionismverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS