Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information Elements of Moral Cognition Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment Is the science of moral cognition usefully modeled on aspects of Universal Grammar? Are human beings born with an innate “moral grammar” that causes them to analyze human action in terms of its moral structure, with just as little awareness as they analyze human speech in terms of its grammatical structure? Questions like these have been at the forefront of moral psychology ever since John Mikhail revived them in his infl uential work on the linguistic anal- ogy and its implications for jurisprudence and moral theory. In this seminal book, Mikhail offers a careful and sustained analysis of the moral grammar hypothesis, showing how some of John Rawls’ origi- nal ideas about the linguistic analogy, together with famous thought experiments like the trolley problem, can be used to improve our understanding of moral and legal judgment. The book will be of interest to philosophers, cognitive scientists, legal scholars, and other researchers in the interdisciplinary fi eld of moral psychology. John Mikhail is Professor of Law and Philosophy at Georgetown University. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information Elements of Moral Cognition Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment J O H N M I K H A I L G e o r g e t o w n U n i v e r s i t y © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521855785 © J o h n M i k h a i l 2 0 1 1 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mikhail, John, 1969– Elements of Moral Cognition / John Mikhail. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-85578-5 hardback 1. Language and ethics. 2. Rawls, John, 1921–2002. Theory of justice. 3. Generative grammar. 4. Chomsky, Noam. I. Title. bj44.m55 2009 170–dc22 2008050511 isbn 978-0-521-85578-5 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of url s for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information To Sarah, Hannah, and Andrew; and to the memory of my parents, Ramzy and Maryse Mikhail © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information Homo homini lupus;* who has the courage to dispute it in the face of all the evidence in his own life and in history? – Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto them- selves.… They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, their conscience bearing witness.… – St. Paul, Letter to the Romans What we have been saying would have a degree of validity even if we should concede that which cannot be conceded without the utmost wickedness, that there is no God, or that the affairs of men are of no concern to Him. – Hugo Grotius, On the Law of War and Peace * Man is to man a wolf. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information C o n t e n t s List of Tables and Figures page xi P r e f a c e xv P a r t O n e : T h e o r y 1 The Question Presented 3 2 A New Framework for the Theory of Moral Cognition 13 2.1 Nine Comparisons between Linguistics and Moral Theory 14 2 . 1 . 1 T h e M a i n Q u e s t i o n s 1 4 2 . 1 . 2 T h e G e n e r a l A n s w e r s 1 5 2 . 1 . 3 T h e F u n d a m e n t a l A r g u m e n t s 1 7 2 . 1 . 4 T h e C o m p e t e n c e – P e r f o r m a n c e D i s t i n c t i o n 1 7 2.1.5 The Distinction between Operative and Express P r i n c i p l e s 1 9 2 . 1 . 6 L e v e l s o f E m p i r i c a l A d e q u a c y 2 1 2 . 1 . 7 T w o A d d i t i o n a l Q u e s t i o n s 2 3 2.1.8 Commonsense and Technical Concepts of L a n g u a g e a n d M o r a l i t y 2 4 2 . 1 . 9 T h e o r e t i c a l G o a l s 2 6 2 . 2 P r e l i m i n a r y C l a r i fi cations about Rawls’ L i n g u i s t i c A n a l o g y 2 7 2 . 3 O u t l i n e o f R e m a i n i n g C h a p t e r s 3 3 3 The Basic Elements of Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy 42 3 . 1 E i g h t F e a t u r e s o f R a w l s ’ C o n c e p t i o n o f M o r a l T h e o r y 4 3 3 . 1 . 1 T h e A r g u m e n t f o r M o r a l G r a m m a r 4 3 3 . 1 . 2 T h e P r o b l e m o f D e s c r i p t i v e A d e q u a c y 4 8 3.1.3 The Distinction between Descriptive and Observational Adequacy 49 vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-85578-5 - Elements of Moral Cognition: Rawls’ Linguistic Analogy and the Cognitive Science of Moral and Legal Judgment John Mikhail Frontmatter More information viii Contents 3.1.4 The Distinction between Operative and E x p r e s s P r i n c i p l e s 5 0 3.1.5 The Distinction between Descriptive and E x p l a n a t o r y A d e q u a c y 5 1 3 . 1 . 6 T h e C o m p e t e n c e – P e r f o r m a n c e D i s t i n c t i o n 5 1 3.1.7 The Theory-Dependence of the Competence– Performance Distinction 55 3 . 1 . 8 T h e I m p o r t a n c e o f I d e a l i z a t i o n 5 6 3 . 2 F u r t h e r C l a r i fi cations about Terminology 57 3 . 3 M o r a l T h e o r y a s a T h e o r y o f I - M o r a l i t y 6 3 3.4 Some Further Remarks about the Linguistic Analogy 67 3 .