What do You Think of Moral Systems?

My personal rankings

I’m reviewing Sarah Perry’s work lately, and she does this strange thing where she grounds morality in the way people seem to generally think about morality, via Jonathan Haidt.¹ This is at least one step removed from the usual methods. Right? It feels very different from the typical philosophical practice du jour, which relies either on some established philosophical system, or else, on a blend of personal intuition and (depending on how schlocky you’re willing to be) an appeal to the reader’s political preferences.

But in terms of actually establishing what a person ought to do, how compelling is Haidt’s moral foundations theory, really? And come to think of it, how compelling is any moral system out there?

Here are my personal rankings out of all the following options as of right now:

1. Moral Agnosticism: I’m not sure, I just like being brave, sincere, dutiful, and also nice

2. Moral Nihilism

3. Virtue Ethics

4. Jonathan Haidt’s Moral Foundations

5. “Always do what authorities tell you, or else, they’ll punish you”

6. Kantian Deontology & Utilitarianism (Tie)

7. “I just follow my moral intuitions; I’m really never wrong”

8. “My ingroup is always right. The outgroup must be stopped by any means”

But how would you rank the moral systems you know? Tell me about it in the comments!

1. Graham, J., Haidt, J., Motyl, M., Meindl, P., Iskiwitch, C., & Mooijman, M. (2018). Moral foundations theory. Atlas of moral psychology, 211.