The current paper puts forth a new conceptualization for the evolutionary function of morality. Moral alliance strategies theory proposes that our moral psychology can be understood as a tool for managing associations, using the observable behavior of others as an input. The behavior of others is a key input for this system, as it can be used to identify new and profitable alliance potential, to predict where other third parties might side in disputes and as a cue for when existing alliances are liable to become too costly to maintain. Through considerations of how people’s behaviors have effects on their association value, a number of facets of our moral psychology—such as impartiality, proportionality, and moral praiseworthiness—can be better understood.
CITATION STYLE
Marczyk, J. (2015). Moral Alliance Strategies Theory. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1(2), 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-015-0011-y
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