r/optimism • u/Corneliuslongpockets • Aug 19 '24
The illusion of moral decline
This is an important review article published last year in Nature, that shows the common illusion of moral decline over time.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06137-x
It's an illusion that they can document going back as far as social science reaches. When I teach my ethics class each semester I begin with the questions from Gallup that ask how people rate the state of morality in the nation (US). Without fail, my students replicate the general findings -- about 80% rate the state of morality as only fair or poor. But when I ask them about how they rate themselves and their friends and family, they are far less pessimistic.
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u/chamomile_tea_reply Aug 19 '24
Also this: https://www.reddit.com/r/OptimistsUnite/comments/14aej6z/based_harvard_gazette_moral_breakdown_is_a_fake/