Moral Foundations — Why Good People Reach Opposite Conclusions
Two people read the same dilemma and reach completely opposite conclusions — each convinced the other is missing something obvious. Moral Foundations Theory proposes that this happens because they're reasoning from different psychological systems: Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, Liberty. The dilemmas below activate these foundations in ways that reveal which ones are running your deepest moral reasoning. Neither response is wrong. They're different moral languages.
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A runaway trolley is heading toward 5 people. You can pull a lever to divert it — but it will kill 1 person instead.
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Research background
Jonathan Haidt and colleagues developed Moral Foundations Theory to explain cross-cultural variation in moral intuitions. The framework identifies six foundational systems — Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, Liberty — each with evolutionary origins and contemporary moral weight. Liberal and conservative moral systems differ primarily in how heavily the non-Care/Fairness foundations are weighted.
- Moral Psychology Research Lab — University of Virginia / NYU
- The Righteous Mind — Jonathan Haidt (Pantheon Books, 2012)
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