definition

Two Distinct Moralities: Sympathy and Fairness

There are two distinct moralities: the morality of sympathy/helping—rooted in mammalian oxytocin-driven care for offspring and generalized to non-kin, widespread across mammals—and the morality of fairness and obligation, a more cognitive, rational process where equal effort generates a felt obligation to share equally; the sense of obligation is not the same as being nice and arises specifically from collaborative foraging.

definitionpending

Speaker

Michael Tomasello

Evidence Quote

I distinguish... the morality of sharing and helping and sympathy, and the morality of fairness, which is a more cognitive rational kind of process.

Source

225 | Michael Tomasello on The Social Origins of Cognition and AgencySean Carroll's Mindscape
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:05:28 AM

My Notes

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