Knowra Moral emotions Moral emotions Moral emotions are feelings such as guilt, compassion, and indignation that arise in response to perceived moral situations and shape moral judgment and behavior.
Guilt : A self-conscious emotion arising from judging that one has committed a wrong or caused harm. Guilt focuses moral emotion on one’s own harmful actions and often motivates repair.
Appraisal theory : A family of theories explaining emotions through evaluations of an event’s relevance to goals, standards, and concerns. Appraisals of blame, harm, and responsibility help distinguish one moral emotion from another.
Moral development : The development of capacities for moral understanding, judgment, and conduct across the lifespan. Changes in emotional understanding and regulation accompany the development of moral behavior.
Moral sentimentalism : The view that sentiment or emotion is fundamental to moral judgment and motivation. Sentimentalism gives moral emotions a foundational role in explaining moral evaluation.
Shame : A self-conscious emotion involving a negative evaluation of the self, often accompanied by a wish to hide. Shame shows how moral emotions can target a person’s identity rather than a particular act.
Moral intuition : A rapid, often automatic evaluation of an action or situation as morally right or wrong. Intuitive evaluations can trigger moral emotions before deliberate reasoning begins.
Restorative justice : An approach to responding to wrongdoing that emphasizes repairing harm and addressing the needs of affected people. Guilt and compassion can support acknowledgment of harm and efforts to repair it.
Rationalism : The view that reason, rather than sentiment, is the primary basis of knowledge or judgment. Rationalist accounts challenge explanations that give emotion priority in moral judgment.
Compassion : Concern for another’s suffering that can motivate efforts to relieve it. Compassion directs moral feeling toward another person’s suffering and possible aid.
Emotion regulation : Processes used to influence which emotions arise, when they occur, and how they are expressed. Regulation can alter whether moral emotions lead to constructive repair or harmful retaliation.
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