Synonyms
Definition
Inborn tendencies to act morally and to experience a sense of morality.
Introduction
Over the years, the concept of instinct has drifted in and out of favor in the natural and social sciences and has been defined in many different ways. Here, instincts are defined as natural inborn tendencies inherited by all members of a species to feel, think, and act in particular ways in response to particular internal and external triggers. Evolutionary theorists such as Pinker (2008) have invoked the concept of moral instincts. Moral instincts can be defined in two qualitatively different, but related, ways – (a) as instincts that induce individuals to behave in ways that people consider moral and to refrain from behaving in ways that people consider immoral and (b) as instincts that induce individuals to categorizecertain phenomena as moral and immoral and to make moral judgments. People experience the second kind of moral...
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Krebs, D. (2016). Moral Instincts. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_439-1
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