Morality: It’s our understanding of what causes harm to others or what causes benefit to others. It can come from many different sources such as religion, culture, family, personal experience, etc. To a certain degree the more general forms of morality, such as what makes a person happy or sad, can be unrelated to culture .. I think that morality comes from the soul and not the brain, but the structure society has made regarding morality definitely is affected by culture. Justice is the constant balance of what we deserve based on the actions we commit.

A) How compelling do you think the moral foundations theory is? What makes it compelling?

I think that it is a very refreshing point to view to think that morality comes from our emotional experiences such as sympathy for others suffering or the bonds we have (ex. Family) in our life. It shows that we begin to prioritize values that we hold dear to our heart, and it gets translated into different aspects of life such as our definition of justice or our political views. It can also come from the circles we adapt to and the customs we are raised around. It shows how influenceable we are as humans and suggests that we change based on our environment.

2. Did you take the quiz? If so, did it inform you? Surprise you? Do you think it aligns with your beliefs?

I did take the quiz, and my results are in the file above. It seems that my strongest moral beliefs were care and purity. Seeing these scores makes me think that these beliefs stem from my personal experiences from growing up in a religious and immigrant household. I also believe that everyone has a unique upbringing which shapes moral beliefs differently for everyone.

3. What do you think about the theory of these five foundations?  Do you think they help explain why some people take political beliefs so personally?  Do you still have questions about these foundations?

I think the theory of the five foundations is something that everyone should take in consideration in order to humanize those of which we don't agree with. This explains to us that the beliefs of others can be due to the way that someone grew up or the environment that they are in. Being aware of the humanity of our moral view can also help us to create better solutions together and promote more unity in our society.

4.  How are these ideas related to cognitive biases?  

The moral foundations theory ties directly into our cognitive biases because our brain uses these core moral values into generating opinions that we hold so dearly in our hearts and minds. This means that our opinions are ego-involved, and when others question these beliefs, cognitive bias can be formed as a coping mechanism or to protect our beliefs. Sometimes, we embody our beliefs and identify ourselves within our beliefs, so when others attack our beliefs, we feel as if our own identity and consciousness is being attacked. This further leads us down the path of denial and cognitive bias.

5. Do you agree with Willer's solution?  

I agree with Willer's solution on switching our view of We should adapt a curiosity of ideas and their motives instead of framing ideas as "threats". Having a fascination of ideas and desire to understand ideas can prevent emotional responses or cognitive denial. Furthermore, we need to have conversations when ideas feel like they are harming our consciousness. Also, we need to recognize that some people will never face the same situations and perspectives as us, and may never understand why we have certain points of view, and vice versa. We need to understand why that is, and accept that others have different points of view.