普遍道德语法述评

On Universal Moral Grammar

普遍道德语法是当前在西方道德心理研究领域出现的一种新的研究框架。它将道德与语言类比,试图用类似于研究语言的概念和模式来描述道德知识的本质与起源,解答人类道德判断的心理机制问题。由于道德与语言不完全相似,普遍道德语法存在不可忽视的缺陷,但仍提供了从不同角度研究道德能力的有效观点。

Universal Moral Grammar is a new research program in moral psychology. By using concepts and models similar to those used in the study of language, it seeks to describe the nature and origin of moral knowledge, to provide an account of the mechanisms underlying human moral judgments. In spite of its disadvantages, this approach is thought to provide a fruitful perspective from which to investigate moral competence.