This post is about Ch 7 that we were supposed to read this week... It was about morals and what is the cause of morals. Rowlands talked about the movie, The Hollow Man, where Kevin Bacon decided that he could do anything he wanted after he became invisible. Rowlands' theory was that we act "morally" because we care about what others perceive us to be. In other words, I don't say nasty things to someone who annoys me because I don't want to be interpreted as mean or impatient. Also, Rowlands thought that we have an unsaid pack between people that can be interpreted as morals. It is the thought "If I don't hit you, you won't hit me."

The first theory, more than the second, interests me because my professor in my gen psych class keeps telling us about his research that deals with the same concept. Basically, from what he has told us, his research is testing the theory that we act according to what other people think we should act. For example, I study and try to get good grades because my family emphasizes academic success. Take someone else from a different family who values athletic success more, that someone will be more prone to skipping studying to lift weights.

I don't agree with the theory that morals are a result of environment, though the environment undoubtedly influences them. I do agree that we are more prone to "acting out" when we are by ourselves (take for example, yelling at a slow driver in front of you when you are by yourself) but we still have a sense of morals (I feel some sense of guilt for saying such mean things to the slow driver later)... Any thoughts? Do you have inborn morals?