Triune ethics meta-theory and embodied moral development

Abstract

Triune ethics meta-theory (TEM) identifies three distinctive ethical orientations, rooted in basic emotional systems and global brain states, that propel human moral action on an individual and group level. The first state, self-preservation, typically occurs when the stress response is activated, mobilizing the individual for "fight," "flight," "freeze," or "faint" and drawing focus to self-regarding action. The second state, affiliation, relies on the upper limbic system and its connections to the frontal lobe and extends capacities from self-regarding to other-regarding as long as bidirectional links to the frontal lobe, critical for self-regulation, are well-functioning. The third state, reflection, requires frontal lobe capacities, especially the prefrontal cortex, extending capabilities of imagination and abstraction. Ethical orientations can shift by situation and also be dispositional.