The idea of a moral circle was popularized most by peter singer, although the concept was there before him. There's this notion that there are these kind of concentric rings within this moral circle that kind of expand outward from ourselves. We first and foremost care about others that are most like us or that are most relationally tiveto us. And then we start moving outward from there. The next concentric rung might be people in our neighborhood or our in group members. Then we we keep moving outward and get to entities and objects that are more and more dissimilar, or more and more distant from ourselves.
Transcript
chevron_right
Play full episode
chevron_right
Transcript
Episode notes
I was raised in the tradition of believing that everyone is of equal moral worth. But when I scrutinise my daily practices, I don’t think I can honestly say that I act as if everyone is of equal moral worth. The idea that some people belong within the circle of moral concern and some do not is central to many moral systems. But what affects the dynamics of the moral circle? How does it contract and expand? Can it expand indefinitely? In this episode I discuss these questions with Joshua Rottman. Josh is an associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Program in Scientific and Philosophical Studies of Mind at Franklin and Marshall College. His research is situated at the intersection of cognitive development and moral psychology, and he primarily focuses on studying the factors that lead certain entities and objects to be attributed with (or stripped of) moral concern.