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http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/21080
Title: | Exploring a functionalist model of moral elevation |
Authors: | Monroe, Amy |
Advisors: | Price, M |
Keywords: | Evolutionary Psychology;Competitive Altruism;Moral Elevation;Emotions |
Issue Date: | 2020 |
Publisher: | Brunel University London |
Abstract: | This chapter introduces the subject of interest for the thesis – a social emotion called moral elevation. The first section gives a brief summary of evolutionary explanations for human prosocial behaviour, and locates the thesis’ topic within a broader framework of current academic enquiry. The second section summarizes the extant moral elevation literature and identifies a gap in the literature concerning whether the emotion may have been sculpted by natural selection. A précis of the criteria for labeling a trait an adaptation is offered, and a framework for understanding emotions as evolved cognitive mechanisms is outlined. Two theories about the possible adaptive function performed by moral elevation are explained; the relationship-building hypothesis, and the reputation-management hypothesis. Prima facie reasons for preferring the latter over the former are laid out, and the chapter ends with a summary of predictions about elevation’s form, which are to be expanded on in subsequent chapters. |
Description: | This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London |
URI: | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/21080 |
Appears in Collections: | Psychology Dept of Life Sciences Theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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FulltextThesis.pdf | 1.44 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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