In a world of empathy-based ethics, the moral sense is ultimately the aesthetic sense. And that means that when the sacred order collapses, morality is simply a matter of taste, not truth. There are no morals anymore, it's all taste/aesthetics/~vibes~. amazon.com/After-Virtue-S…

Property 7/ Morals are a one-way street. Once expanded, they cannot contract.

Property 6/ If everyone things something is moral, it’s no longer a moral but business-as-usual. Morals are always defined in contrast with what other people aren’t doing but should.

Property 5/ Moral framework tends to expand over time as different minorities discover different types of injustices.

Property 4/ Moral progress comes through a vocal minority who’s able to look past inconveniences that’ll be incurred while making a change. So notice what minority is talking about today. Their voices will determine society's behavior tomorrow.

Property 3/ Changes in morals ALWAYS comes at a cost, inconvenience and loss of power for the privileged. This is why a change in moral framework is first resisted by the society at large.

Property 2/ Many of today's norms will be seen as immoral by future generations. Witch-hunt was acceptable at one point of time. Which of today's behaviors you think will be seen as immoral in future? My bet is that eating animals will be seen in disbelief by our descendents.

Property 1/ Widely adopted morals gradually disappear from one’s moral framework, and simply become a norm. Nobody talks about slavery anymore, and yet it was a topic of intense debate in 18th and 19th century.

A thread on the SEVEN properties of morals 🧭

My new paper in Evolutionary Psychology with @SimoneSchnall is now in press. Disease and Disapproval: COVID-19 Concern is Related to Greater Moral Condemnation Check out the preprint here: psyarxiv.com/7szaw