“Characters in Hollywood movies encounter a lot of car chases. Characters in novels rarely wash their hands or do their laundry. And in the work of moral psychologists, people deliberate and reflect a lot. They deliberate, one sometimes feels, whenever they perform an action, and certainly whenever they act for good reasons.” PeopleSometimesReasonCharacterActionMoralNovelPsychologyCarEthicsPsychologistLaundry Book:Unprincipled Virtue: An Inquiry Into Moral Agency Source: Unprincipled Virtue: An Inquiry Into Moral Agency
“A very tall man once asked a question after my talk. Before beginning his question, he explained that the reason he was standing up is not to be intimidating but rather to make eye contact. His question was essentially "are we really interested in moral motives? Isn't it all about action?". I pointed out to him that it was not enough for him to do the right thing - stand up - but he also wanted me to know that he is doing it from the right motive or for the right reason - to make eye contact, rather than to be intimidating. Voila, moral psychology.” MenReasonEnoughEyeActionMoralPsychologyRight ThingMotiveIntimidatingEye Contact Author:Nomy Arpaly
“Suppose whether or not someone tells me a lie depends only on whether he wants to, but he is morally indifferent, he doesn't care much about the truth or about me, and his self interest, which he worships, tells him to lie, and so it comes about that given his psychology, it is a forgone conclusion that he will lie to me. I think in this case he is still blameworthy, and that implies, among other things, that he did something he ought not do.” ThinkingCareLyingInterestPsychologyWorshipConclusionIndifferentSelf InterestLie To Me Author:Nomy Arpaly