Abstract

Moral agency is a central feature of both religious and secular conceptions of human beings. In this paper I outline a scientific naturalistic model of moral agency making use of current findings and theories in sociobiology,developmental psychology, and social cognitive theory. The model provides answers to four central questions about moral agency: (1) what it is, (2) how it is acquired, (3) how it is put to work, and (4) how it is justified. I suggest that this model can provide religious and secular moral theories with a basis for a common understanding of moral agency.

Keywords

moral agency andpsychology, altruism, religion, ethics, and science, social cognitivetheory, genetic selfishness, Albert Bandura, moral development, naturalized ethics, Martin Hoffman, moral agency, moral agency and biology, evolutionary ethics, sociobiology, naturalistic fallacy, ethics and science

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