Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:47:03.231Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Tomasello's tin man of moral obligation needs a heart

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2020

Jeremy I. M. Carpendale Open the ORCID record for Jeremy I. M. Carpendale [Opens in a new window]  and
Charlie Lewis Open the ORCID record for Charlie Lewis [Opens in a new window]
Jeremy I. M. Carpendale
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A [email protected]://www.sfu.ca/psychology/about/people/profiles/jcarpend.html
Charlie Lewis
Affiliation:
Psychology Department, Lancaster University, Fylde College, Lancaster, LA1 4YWUnited Kingdom. [email protected]://www.lancaster.ac.uk/people-profiles/charlie-lewis
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In place of Tomasello's explanation for the source of moral obligation, we suggest that it develops from the concern for others already implicit in the human developmental system. Mutual affection and caring make the development of communication and thinking possible. Humans develop as persons within such relationships and this develops into respect and moral obligation.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e64
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Carpendale, J. I. M. (2018) Communication as the coordination of activity: The implications of philosophical preconceptions for theories of the development of communication. In: Advancing developmental science: Philosophy, theory, and method, ed. Dick, A. S. & Müller, U., pp. 145–56. Routledge, Taylor & Francis group.Google Scholar
Carpendale, J. I. M., Hammond, S. I. & Atwood, S. (2013) Chapter Six – A relational developmental systems approach to moral development. In: Advances in child development and behavior, vol. 44, ed. Lerner, R. M. & Benson, J. B., pp. 125–53. Elsevier Science. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-397946-9.00006-3.Google Scholar
Carpendale, J. I. M. & Lewis, C. (2004) Constructing an understanding of mind: The development of children's social understanding within social interaction. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27(1):79–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpendale, J. I. M. & Lewis, C. (2006) How children develop social understanding. Blackwell.Google Scholar
Carpendale, J. I. M. & Lewis, C. (2015a) Taking natural history seriously in studying the social formation of thinking: Critical analysis of A natural history of human thinking by Michael Tomasello. Human Development 58(1):55–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpendale, J. I. M. & Lewis, C. (2015b) The development of social understanding. In: Handbook of child psychology and developmental science, vol. 2: Cognitive processes, ed. Liben, L. & Müller, U., pp. 381–424. Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Grice, H. P. (1975) Logic and conversation. In: Syntax and semantics, vol. 3: Speech acts, ed. Cole, P. & Morgan, J. L., pp. 41–58. Academic Press.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1990) Moral consciousness and communicative action. MIT Press. (Original work published in 1983).Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1932) Moral judgment of the child. Free Press. (1965; original work published in 1932).Google Scholar
Piaget, J. (1965) The moral judgment of the child. Free Press. (Original work published in 1932).Google Scholar
Spaemann, R. (2006) Persons: The difference between “someone” and “something.” Oxford University Press. (Original work published in 1996).Google Scholar
Turnbull, W. (2003) Language in action: Psychological models of conversation. Psychology Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar