Description
Book SynopsisThe value of human life is a significant moral value for most people. Yet, past research has devoted little attention to the development of moral reasoning about the value of life. The present studies investigated how adolescents and adults reason about the value of life in the context of so-called trolley car situations. These situations, adopted from philosophy, involve the option of sacrificing the life of one person to save five others. Based on past developmental research, we expected that individuals would reason about distinct and sometimes conflicting considerations regarding the value of life. This approach contrasted with past research on adults'' responses to trolley car situations, which has been taken to show that most moral evaluations are based not on reasoning but on affective, automatic reactions. In Study 1, 288 adolescents and adults were interviewed about trolley car situations designed to examine considerations like the value of human life and the relatio
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION (page 7)
Audun Dahl, Matthew Gingo, Kevin Uttich, and Elliot Turiel
II. STUDY 1: INVESTIGATING BOTH EVALUATIONS AND REASONING ABOUT SYSTEMATICALLY VARIED TROLLEY CAR SITUATIONS 31
Audun Dahl, Matthew Gingo, Kevin Uttich, and Elliot Turiel
III. STUDY 2: VARYING THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE POTENTIAL VICTIMS 65
Audun Dahl, Matthew Gingo, Kevin Uttich, and Elliot Turiel
IV. GENERAL DISCUSSION 77
Audun Dahl, Matthew Gingo, Kevin Uttich, and Elliot Turiel
REFERENCES 100
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 109
COMMENTARY
CHALLENGING A DUAL-PROCESS APPROACH TO MORAL REASONING: ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS EVALUATIONS OF TROLLEY CAR SITUATIONS (page 110)
Melanie Killen and Kelly Lynn Mulvey
CONTRIBUTERS 124
SUBJECT INDEX 126
