Moral psychology is an interdisciplinary area of study that draws from both moral philosophy and empirical cognitive science. Topics in moral psychology are both psychological and ethical in nature, such as moral judgment, moral agency and responsibility, and moral emotions. In this course, we'll examine these phenomena, with a special focus on moral judgment. Some of the questions we'll explore include the following: Is moral cognition driven primarily by emotion or reasoning? Which areas of the brain are involved in moral judgment? Is moral judgment analogous to language? Are moral judgments necessarily motivating? Are any emotions distinctively moral in nature? Can psychopaths show us anything interesting about the nature of moral judgment or moral responsibility? More generally, what can (and can't) empirical findings from the cognitive sciences tell us about the nature of morality and human moral thought and behavior? How do philosophers and psychologists differ in their writing and in their overall approach to the study of moral psychological topics?

Course readings will reflect the interdisciplinary nature of moral psychology as a field of inquiry, and will include a mix of philosophical readings and contemporary empirical work in cognitive science. For the Fall 2022 semester, this course will satisfy LSA’s Upper Level Writing Requirement.

This class meets for 80 minutes, twice a week. It is not primarily a lecture course, so active participation from all students is expected at every class meeting. Class activities may include small and large group discussions, games, reading/writing exercises, video viewings, collaborative note taking and annotation, guest lectures with Q&A (TBC!), and more.