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Puritanism as moral advertisement helps solve the puzzle of ineffective moralization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2023

Stefaan Blancke Open the ORCID record for Stefaan Blancke [Opens in a new window]
Stefaan Blancke*
Affiliation:
Tilburg Center for Moral Philosophy, Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (TiLPS), Department of Philosophy, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands s.a.m.blancke@tilburguniversity.edu; www.stefaanblancke.com
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Abstract

The moral disciplining theory proposes that people moralize excessive innocent behavior to discipline others to behave in ways that facilitate cooperation. However, such disciplining might not always be effective. To solve this puzzle of ineffective moralization we should think of puritanism in terms of moral advertisement aimed at reputation management rather than the manipulation of others.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e296
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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