Moral Foundations: Conclusion

They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.

 - From Jeremiah 17

We have spent the last few months looking at the so-called "Moral Foundations," the dimensions of morality that define how and why people vote as they do. What makes a Liberal vote as they do? What are the elements present in the heart and spirit of Conservatives?

It turns out that, according to research, there are five, maybe six foundations upon which people define their morality. And the dimensions relied upon by Liberals, in general, are a subset of the dimensions of Conservatives.

According to Wikipedia, here is a summary:

The five foundations[edit]

• Care: cherishing and protecting others; opposite of harm
• Fairness or proportionality: rendering justice according to shared rules; opposite of cheating
• Loyalty or ingroup: standing with your group, family, nation; opposite of betrayal
• Authority or respect: submitting to tradition and legitimate authority; opposite of subversion
• Sanctity or purity: abhorrence for disgusting things, foods, actions; opposite of degradation

A sixth foundation, liberty (opposite of oppression) was theorized by Jonathan Haidt in The Righteous Mind, chapter eight, in response to the need to differentiate between proportionality fairness and the objections he had received from conservatives and libertarians (United States usage) to coercion by a dominating power or person. Haidt noted that the latter group's moral matrix relies almost entirely on the liberty foundation.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_foundations_theory#The_five_foundations)

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Liberals place great stress upon the first two: Care and Fairness, while mostly ignoring the other three. Conservatives make decisions based on all five (maybe six) equally. I will leave it to the reader, to discern whether it involves greater complexity of thought, or less, to integrate all five dimensions into one's own worldview.

Jeremiah uses the illustration of the roots of a tree, planted near water. A few feet below the surface of the earth, is a complex network of roots of all the flora of an area. These roots entangle one another, providing nourishment and support among species, but not across species. Trees have the healthier system, as their roots go farther and deeper. They can last longer in a drought, than grass.

Consider the five dimensions. Actually - - - I do like the addition of liberty. Conservatives aren't all about authority and loyalty. They also want to be free above all else. They want to be thought of as an individual, and not as the member of a group.

The six dimensions are not compatible. They are in conflict with one another. But if you are going to embrace all of the dimensions, you will have to accept the challenge of complex thinking.

Eternal life is the result of following a long, narrow path. The narrower it gets, the straighter it gets.

But that straight line, that narrow line, is to be found in the intersection of a vast web of complexity. Peace, but war when needed. Grace and judgment. Love and purity. They all have to be taken together.

And it's a glorious and victorious journey.