What makes a person moral? Why do we defend fairness one moment and justify selfishness the next? In this episode of The Social Lens, host Beatrice Goodwin breaks down the fascinating science of moral psychology, exploring how our sense of right and wrong is shaped by culture, identity, brain development, and even evolution.

You’ll explore the hidden mechanics of ethical decision-making, how moral judgments shift across situations, and why your moral compass might be less stable than you think. From the ethic of autonomy and community to the powerful force of divinity-based morality, this episode reveals how humans operate across three moral worlds—and why conflict is often built into the system.

Learn how factors like hunger, stress, identity, and social roles affect your moral behavior. Discover why moral development in children takes years and how adolescent brains make ethical decisions that seem wildly inconsistent.

We’ll also look at morality from an evolutionary psychology perspective—how kindness, honesty, and justice may have evolved not just for survival, but as powerful mating signals in human society.

If you’re interested in social psychology, ethics, human behavior, and moral philosophy, this episode is packed with insights, science, and real-life examples that will challenge how you see morality.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) The Moral Maze: A Journey Through Human Ethics

(01:53) The Shape-Shifting Nature of Right and Wrong

(05:27) The Three Moral Worlds We Inhabit

(10:13) The Evolutionary Game of Goodness

(16:14) When Our Moral Compass Goes Haywire

(22:42) The Ancient Roots of Right and Wrong

(29:54) The Great Moral Divide

(37:43) Hacking Our Moral Brain

(45:19) Conclusion: Navigating the Moral Maze