Moral Judgment

[Christopher]

A CEO introduces a new project that will improve business and productivity. Later, before the project begins, he is told that the project will negatively impact the environment. Research shows that if the CEO continues ahead with the project, he is generally considered immoral.

Instead: A CEO introduces a new project that will improve business and productivity. Later, before the project begins, he is told that the project will positively impact the environment. Research shows that if the CEO continues ahead with the project, he is considered morally neutral.

Biases like this exist all over the place in morality. Not only this, but the response of people is to evaluate the CEO as a moral character rather than to evaluate his behavior as moral (even though it is behavior that is ultimately being judged).

It has led me the following question: what is moral judgment of another? Not "what is moral judgment defined as," but what is the moral judgment event that arises in human consciousness? What is the evolutionary perspective of moral judgment? What is moral judgment as an ontological truth in metaphysics?

I have given considerable thought to this question. I'd like to fly this by the intelligent crowd on OL and see what you think. I currently believe moral judgment may represent an evaluation of the operation of the consciousness of another. In lesser-evolved mammals, morality is thought not to exist. In lesser mammals, there is no volitional consciousness: how the animal behaves is what that animal is. In humans, we seek out more than just another person's behavioral response, we seek out the motivation and operation of his thinking system in order to understand his actions. In order to function in groups, we need to understand how individuals within the group operate in order to understand how a community can be formed and sustained with such individuals.

Therefore, I believe moral judgments reflect an evaluation of the motivation structure of another consciousness. That is why: A. moral judgments about behavior generally reflect on the actor and not the behavior; B. In the first instance above, we see that the CEO acts with intention that ignores the environment (an evaluation of his motivation); whereas in the second instance, the CEO acts with no specific intention in regards to the environment, so he gains no kudos for supporting the environment. Moral evaluation is not about the effects of action, it is about the evaluation of the operation of consciousness in another human being.

Thoughts, comments, other examples?