Moral consistency can be learned rule-following rather than an innate disposition

Evidence

Consistent cooperation may arise from rule following (which in turn requires behavior that seems at the moment to be foolish or costly). And, the tendency to follow a rule in such cases (rather than make decisions based on momentary inclinations) may come in turn from understanding one’s own limitations (i.e., from a history of reinforcement for rule-following and punishment for case-by-case, seat-of-the pants decision making). Such a learning model would apply to moral rules as well as to personal rules of self-control. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 503

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies ‘intrinsic motivation to be fair’ vs the rule-following alternative: moral behavior may be trained habit, not internal disposition.
• ADDENDUM: Speaks directly to ‘On Sacrifice: The Real Kind, with Corpses’ — rule-following that looks costly or foolish at the moment is how sacrificial obedience gets learned.
• XREF: connects to: Moral intuitions evolved as flexible, context-sensitive responses rather than a single universal faculty. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 434; Morality is an evolved sense of fairness, not a late intellectual achievement — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 656; Genuine moral commitments resist monetary incentives to switch — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 303 (+3 more)

Related

• Morality evolved as a propensity for fair cost-benefit sharing among cooperators. (similarity 0.80)
• Morality is an evolved sense of fairness, not a late intellectual achievement (similarity 0.80)
• Morality resembles a self-enforcing contract between present and future selves. (similarity 0.79)
• Moral intuitions evolved as flexible, context-sensitive responses rather than a single universal faculty. (similarity 0.79)
• Human morality is contingent rather than invariant across circumstances. (similarity 0.79)
• Morality evolves in two steps, from selfish reciprocity to intrinsic fairness. (similarity 0.79)
• Human moral behavior may originate in mere conformity to convention, not genuine morality. (similarity 0.79)
• Conscience evolved to supply immediate rewards that bridge the gap to future moral payoffs (similarity 0.79)
• Moral obligations require overriding force that natural selection doesn’t explain (similarity 0.78)
• Morality is about fair cooperation, not maximizing welfare. (similarity 0.78)
• Morality serves a self-directed ego function of constructing moral identity. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Morality is an evolved sense of fairness, not a late intellectual achievement #contradicts (0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 656