In response to my last journal, my coordinator Mr. Bott proposed comparing Haidt’s beliefs on morality with Kant’s famous Kantian Ethics (seen below). The purpose of this journal is to see if Haidt would agree or disagree with the first main principle of Kantian Ethics and why. I would like to eventually make a comparison between all three foundations but I don’t believe I have enough knowledge and insight to do so yet. But I’ll get there eventually.
Disclaimer: I am only around 90 pages into The Righteous Mind, thus some predictions may not be completely accurate in compliance with Haidt’s thinking.
For the first foundation of Kantian Ethics, it is more than likely that Haidt would disagree. In The Righteous Mind, Haidt clearly states that moral reasoning — and likely therefore your actions — are almost completely driven by emotionful intuitive thinking and not cool rational reasoning (thus suppressing your “instinct”). I discussed this phenomenon briefly in Journal Four but now I think I have a better picture. Haidt’s metaphor for this is known as the the Elephant and the Rider; the former represents moral intuitive thinking while the latter represent moral reasoning. In almost all cases, the Elephant drives all moral decisions while the Rider assists and steers. For example, after the Elephant makes its decision, the Rider prepares to fabricate the post-hoc reasoning I described in Journal Five. To further emphasize that the Elephant’s decision is intuitive, affective emotions can be used. These are spontaneous (and very short-lived) flashes of emotions resulting from our minds constantly perceiving our surroundings and making subconscious judgements. However, this already causes the Elephant to lean in a certain direction, effectively influencing what you think and do next. Would Haidt think that resisting your natural response is still considered moral? Probably not. But maybe it depends on the definition of morality.
Therefore, the final verdict for the first matchup is likely a disagreement. Once I read enough, I’ll be back to make further comparisons.