Reply To: Burn Baby Burn

[Arcus]

Both Haidt and Fiske are based on Schweder, but Fiske’s Models are easier to use to evaluate real life dilemmas because when the wrong model is used it is clearly a social faux pas.

For instance, if an acquaintance invites you to dinner you are supposed to used the communal sharing (CS) model of ethics – say thank you and compliment the food. If you use the equality matching (EM) model, ie by insisting on doing the dishes, or the market pricing (MP), ie trying to pay, it is easy to see why it went wrong. On the other hand, if you go to a restaurant using a CS or EM model you would obviously be in the wrong.

A lot of misunderstandings (see: Borat) and also political leanings are based on models, especially when one is dedicated to a subject only being applicable to one model and everything else is morally disgraceful. The best example is of course, as always, sex. A conservative/reactionary view is that it belongs to AR: the wife has a duty to her husband and must obey his wishes. The anarchist model would be CS; think free love and hippies. Feminists would argue that it belongs to EM: both parties must consent and enjoy it. The liberal model would also include MP, as in prostitution, though not to the exclusion of EM.

As for personal relationships, it is important to generally use the same type of models. Getting back to the meal above, if your spouse cooks for you under an assumption of EM, but you use an AR model, what do you think would happen..?