Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues have developed a set of 9 intuitive moral values that are consistent with evolutionary psychology insights. Amateur psychologists appreciate the Myers-Briggs model while professionals promote the “Big 5” personality traits. Google AI allows us to relatively quickly check our intuitive sense of how the moral values connect with the personality traits.
Professor Haidt’s work emphasizes that moral values are part of our internal makeup based upon evolution, especially recent evolution into a social and cultural species. His team promotes the “rider and elephant” model that asserts that we acquire and reflect deep-seated moral, political and religious views in an intuitive fashion. We only use our rider/rational character to defend/explain our choices from time to time. This was developed independently of Daniel Kahneman’s system 1, system 2 “thinking fast and slow model”. We mostly think fast/intuitively but are able to think slow/rationally as required. The “Moral Foundations Theory” team says that we are 90% selfish chimp and 10% cooperative bee. We are now a hybrid species.
Dr. Haidt is an intuitive, experiential liberal whose academic/scientific work forced him to re-examine his moral beliefs and biases, and those of the left-leaning social sciences. His team documented that there are traditional moral values widely held throughout history and across cultures that do not comply with the dominant WEIRD model of western, educated, industrial, rich and democratic. They took the usual modern experimental psychologist steps and defined 5 moral values. They later expanded their model to 9 values, breaking fairing/no cheating into equality and proportionality and adding liberty/oppression, ownership and honor.
Their team was widely criticized from the left for challenging/undermining the prevailing views of modern moral values (stage-based development, ala Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Lawrence Kohlberg) and opposing the “conventional wisdom” of inevitable moral and cultural progress towards a liberal ideal. At an early stage, they determined that liberal individuals and politicians had a limited moral palate of just care/harm and fairness while conservative individuals and politicians appreciated care/harm and fairness and many traditional moral values. Circa 2013 they tried to convince Democrats that they were playing politics “with one arm tied behind their backs”. The team must have thought “in for a dime, in for a dollar” when they later added ownership and honor to the traditional values of loyalty, authority and purity as valid, universal, historical moral intuitions.
I will take a first pass at how moral intuitions relate to personality traits and then to political views.
Introversion versus extraversion has a limited connection with moral intuitions or politics. Both parties and philosophies attract introverts and extroverts.
Abstract, intellectual individuals emphasize care/harm and fairness/equality as their main moral virtues. Haidt and others criticize this dominant academy view as “thin morality”, inadequate for the real world of community and politics. More concrete/specific/sensing/experiential/practical people tend to also support the conservative values of ownership, loyalty, honor, authority and purity.
Open-minded “perceiving” individuals support care, equality and liberty. Their “judging” counterparts support the 5 clearly conservative values listed above and proportionality as important principles for equity.
High “feeling” individuals tend to adopt the care and equality moral possibilities. They also tend to support the more conservative value of group loyalty. High “thinking” individuals like the structure provided by proportionality, authority and honor. They also tend to be more sensitive to liberty/oppression.
The “Big 5” personality value of “openness” to new experiences is considered the most important predictor of political views by political scientists and psychologists. High openness drives moral intuitions of care and equality. Low openness leads to a preference for ownership, loyalty, honor, authority and purity.
Conscientiousness is affiliated with the conservative values of ownership, loyalty, authority and purity. Proportionality is more neutral for politics, but clearly connected here.
Agreeableness does not align with the other factors. Friendly, high feeling individuals predictably support care and equality. But they also support conservative leaning proportionality and honor. Non-agreeable individuals are more sensitive to oppression, a relatively neutral value. Non-agreeable individuals are more interested in the conservative value of property ownership.
Neuroticism is an equal opportunity offender. Tightly wound, sensitive individuals tend to support the liberal core of care and equality. They are also attracted to the “conservative” values of ownership, honor and purity.
Summary
There is a clear left-right, liberal-conservative divide in some moral intuitions and personalities. There are statistical trends and tendencies. But real individuals are more complicated. Modern individuals are more likely to consider themselves independents with a portfolio of liberal and conservative views on specific topics. Many personality dimensions are unrelated to political views. Humans have different personalities, moral intuitions and political views. There is no clear “right and wrong” view. We are stuck with each other.
I encourage all partisans to deeply consider this result. Politicians are incentivized to win. They look for the “least common denominator”, the most effective words to assemble and maintain a voting coalition. In the modern world of politically and religiously low-engagement citizens, this is a rational and winning approach. Polarization and win/lose positioning are also logical means to election and re-election.
I think that we inherently hold different moral intuitions and political views based upon our personalities and life experiences. We are stuck with each other. We need to invest in Civility to make our political systems work. We need to embrace compromise and “good enough” political results.
In 2013, Jonathan Haidt summarized a decade of research on what values make man tick. What moral intuitions are widely held across time and cultures? Which ones are consistent with evolutionary psychology? How do people think about moral values? The researchers identified and validated 5 values, which have been expanded and refined into 9. People are born with the ability to develop certain moral intuitions. They adopt them subconsciously from experience, family and culture. They hold them deeply and defend/rationalize them as needed. We can change our moral values, politics and religions, but we usually don’t.
(1) Care/Harm
Don’t harm others, take care of people, relieve suffering, empathize. Leads to the virtues of kindness, gentleness and nurturance.
(2) Fairness/Cheating/Equality
Treat people fairly. Reciprocal altruism. Impulse to impose rules that apply equally to all and avoid cheating. Intuitions about equal treatment and equal outcomes for individuals. Generates ideas of justice, rights and autonomy.
(3) Liberty/Oppression
Feelings of reactance and resentment people feel towards those who dominate them and restrict their liberty. Seek liberation from constraints and fight oppression. Motivation to assemble to oppose invalid authority. Promotes equal rights, individual freedom and freedom from oppression.
(4) Fairness/Cheating/Proportionality
Intuitions about individuals getting rewarded in proportion to their merit or contribution.
(5) Ownership
Intuition about possession rights in society, similar to territoriality, which reduce conflict.
(6) In-Group Loyalty/Betrayal
Instinct to affirm the value of groups you identify with, including family and country. Leads to the obligations of self-sacrifice, vigilance, patriotism and punishing betrayal of the group.
(7) Honor/Self-Worth
Basing one’s self-worth upon reputation, including family and kin reputation.
(8) Authority/Subversion
Stable social order based upon the obligations of hierarchical relationships, including obedience, respect and fulfilment of role-based duties. Prevent/oppose/punish subversion. Leads to the virtues of leadership, followership, deference to authority figures and respect for traditions.
(9) Purity/Sanctity/Degradation
Intuitions of physical and spiritual contamination and disgust elevate the value of purity in thought, word and deed. Leads to the virtues of self-discipline, self-improvement, naturalness and spirituality.
Criticisms of the Liberal Values Approach
Liberals are attracted to the first 3 of the 9 values, while conservatives find all 9 to be appealing, including the traditional ones that liberals tend to avoid. This provides conservative politicians with the advantage of having 9 moral flavors to attract and inspire followers, while liberals make do with just 3.
Contrary to the self-image of most liberals, holding just 3 values can make us (me) intolerant, limited, uninformed, less caring/empathetic, disrespectful, proud, faithful, rigid, narrow, critical, uncivil, elitist, divisive, polarizing, righteous, close-minded, controlling, unsophisticated, Manichean, and unscientific!
Haidt and others criticize liberals for taking a simplistic “march of progress” view of history. C.S. Lewis called this “chronological snobbery” and “the spirit of the age” in comparison with universal views. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quote “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” fits into this determinist historical view. Hegel provided a philosophical basis for historical progress. World War I ended the naive view of unstoppable progress in all dimensions of life. The critics don’t discount the relative importance of the first 3 values but reject the elimination of the other 6.
Critics argue that liberals have applied “Occam’s Razor” to trim the list of important, experienced, valuable virtues to just 3 in order to make a political philosophy appear scientific. This is inconsistent with the historical liberal support for pluralism; the recognition of multiple, irreducible values needed for political, religious, economic and community life.
They argue that the short-list elevates the individual while removing any sense of community from the core values of man. They consider this nonsense. The history of philosophy, religion and social science focuses on the critical relationships between the individual and the community, universe, nature, church, city/polity, family/kin group, the many, and the whole.
They say that the strong liberal view is overly rational, elevating formal, scientific, instrumental logic above other forms of logic, feelings, intuitions, group logic, experience, habit, creativity, development, insight, values or spirit.
They say that the liberal view is overly formal, legalistic, individual rights based, administrative, measured, enforced, guaranteed, state based, centralized, bureaucratic, literal, detailed, and inflexible. It is based upon exact fulfilment of idealistic principles without regard to the realities of people or life. It falls into the trap of “the perfect is the enemy of the good” voiced by Voltaire. This approach mirrors that of the Pharisees in the New Testament. It attempts to formally implement utopian goals.
Critics say that care, equality and liberty are collectively very inadequate bases to support a social, political or spiritual philosophy. Too individual, ideal, abstract and emotional. Not balanced with community, spirit, and practicalities.
Critics argue that this approach undermines the essence of the liberal democratic model which recognizes that political differences of all kinds are inherent and offers a structure that limits the risks of worst cases while promoting the development of large majority support for compromise positions.
They say that elevating 3 values and discounting the inherent validity of other values leads to polarization. Caring is good. Trade-offs, qualifications, clarifications, competing values are bad. Equality of opportunity and results is good. Self-interest, group interest, access and preparation costs, excellence, risk-taking, creativity, perseverance, natural abilities, teaching, technology, self-discipline, and diet are bad. Liberty is good. Community, responsibility, duty, honor, hierarchy, wealth, power, feedback, and rewards are bad. There is an inherent limit to raising up any one or few values to be the “creme de la creme”. It doesn’t work. In reality, we are stuck with a messy, indeterminate set of values. Historically, liberals were more comfortable with complexity, change, and emerging perspectives; a reforming, organic, and evolving world.
Critics note that liberals have historically promoted a subjective world view, with individuals happily pursuing different newly created views. They have emphasized tolerance and welcomed paradoxes. They have embraced the arts. They have promoted F. Scott Fitzgerald’s view that “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function“. The recent liberal perspective is much more fixed.
Critics charge liberals with elitism for believing that their set of values is “obviously” superior to others. They argue that their discounting of others’ values is disrespectful. They say that it ignores their inherent value as worthy individuals.
Rebuttal
Conservatives are creating a “strawman” opponent. Some liberals DO believe that the first 3 values are most important and sufficient for supporting our social, political, spiritual and economic worlds. Very few hold this extreme position.
“Liberal versus conservative” is a simplifying intellectual construct. Liberal leaning individuals show great diversity in their beliefs. Individuals increasingly hold a portfolio of left, right and center views. Different interest groups within the liberal family emphasize different values.
“Liberals” do not live in ivory towers. They are engaged in their communities with individuals of varying political views. They are practical. They agree that good is better than perfect.
Tolerance and respect for individual views is a strongly held liberal value.
Politicians, volunteers, donors and thought leaders tend to be more divisive but they are a small share of “liberals”.
Recent survey research confirms significant differences from left to right in making explicit choices, but lab experiments and observational studies show that liberals also respond to situations based on all potential values.
Both conservatives and liberals tend to overexaggerate the depth of support for values or positions held by their opponents. The true differences in moral intuitions and values are not so extreme.
Politicians, strategists and communicators have learned from Haidt’s work. They better understand that humans are motivated in a variety of ways and seek to offer all 9 flavors.
Perception is Reality
Clever politicians live in the world of framing, soundbites, community building, targeted messages, fake news, impressions, smears, reinforcement, enemies, actions drive beliefs, brand is everything, share of mind, emotions, exaggerations, polarization, lies, click-bait, etc.
The so-called “liberal” positions described above do not have to be real, substantial, significant, constant, priorities, enduring, deeply held, common, important, material, central, core, logical, widely held, or consistent. They only have to be plausible or believable. Modern communicators have very few personal filters. Most listeners employ few critical thinking skills. They consume political news and commentary as entertainment and personal validation.
Hence, the views of the most extreme, true-believing, progressive, new left, far left, green, environmental, globalist, utopian, socialist, pro-labor, postmodernist, dada, creative, anti-privilege, defund the police, community activist, radical, intellectual, legalistic, disadvantaged, oppressed citizen, immigrant, politician, intellectual, influencer or local neighbor can be used to portray liberals as extremists, radicals, and severe threats to the American way of life.
Few of us write or act with an eye or ear cocked towards avoiding caricature. In the modern world we all need to become much more disciplined: individually, in our local politics and in holding state and national politicians to a new gold standard of support by the broad American public.
(1) Care/Harm
Surveys indicate that liberals and conservatives equally support this critical value. Because conservatives trade-off Care with other values in their policies, decisions and communications, some liberals accuse them of being cold, heartless or unfeeling. They reject this characterization and question the wisdom and character of their accusers, creating another cycle of polarization. In parallel, some liberals hold Care for the weak, poor, widowed, immigrants, imprisoned, disabled, or unlucky as the supreme value which does not allow for trade-offs to be made. Practical, balanced conservatives reject this utopian, idealistic approach and view it as proof of liberal extremism.
(2) Fairness/Cheating/Equality
Haidt and his team were required to separate 2 Equality from 4 Proportionality as they learned that different people defined fairness in quite different ways. The moral intuition that “cheating is wrong and basic fairness is right” prompts a variety of beliefs. Even when defined as “equality” it covers equal opportunity, equal treatment, equal rights, roughly equal outcomes and equal outcomes. Conservatives have “middling” support for 2 equality. Liberals show very strong support for “equality” of all kinds, broadly applied, often in its strongest form. The response to a violation can be so strong that it looks like (9) Purity/Sanctity/Degradation. Conservatives who don’t have this strong experience can see liberals as over-reacting, thin-skinned, woke, virtue signaling, overly protective, or bleeding hearts. Some liberals who watch conservatives dismiss differences, treatments and systems as relatively unimportant cannot understand why they don’t see the deep violation of human dignity as intolerable on all levels and not subject to context, materiality or trade-offs. This difference of relative weighting, intensity and perspective is difficult to bridge but both sides could start with recognizing it as differences rather than an ultimate “right versus wrong”.
(3) Liberty/Oppression
American liberals and conservatives both rank this as very important. They apply it to different situations. Liberals worry about powerful businesses, multinationals, banks, individuals, churches, courts, militaries, systems, processes and traditional institutions. Conservatives worry about the government, criminals, immigrants, foreigners, militaries and non-traditional institutions.
(4) Fairness/Cheating/Proportionality
Liberals give this a “middle” priority. They value logic and reason. Some support our meritocratic economic and social systems. Conservatives give this a much higher value. They worry about being cheated by governments, bosses, suppliers, welfare beneficiaries, immigrants, tenured faculty, free riders, criminals, storekeepers, retailers, foreign governments, international agencies, and self-dealing charities. (9) Purity/Sanctity/Degradation feelings arise as individuals monitor and prevent attempts to violate this deep sense of fairness. In a mirror image to (2) Fairness/Cheating/Equality, some liberals criticize conservatives for overreacting to remote, infrequent, low impact or nonexistent threats. They encourage others to make rational economic decisions to reduce but not eliminate such actions. Conservatives see this as a non-tradable value and wonder why liberals can be flexible on a truly essential human right – to not be violated.
(5) Ownership
This recently added moral intuition clearly resonates with the conservative values of fairness/proportionality, authority, and liberty/oppression. “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours” is obvious. Conservative support for property rights has a long history. Liberals have weaker support for Ownership as a core intuition or value. They worry about powerful actors oppressing the weak by depriving them of property directly or indirectly [(2) Equality and (3) Oppression]. Some liberals argue that property is an agreed upon legal necessity subject to community definition and control. This view is unintelligible to many conservatives as we saw in the Obama “you didn’t build this” debate about the relative source of value/rights of property ownership between government infrastructure and business owners. Many conservatives today take the opposing view that “taxation is theft” because property ownership is seen as the supreme human right or value in society, befuddling their liberal neighbors. Liberals can benefit from gaining an intuitive sense of ownership as deeply felt and influential. Conservatives can benefit from seeing the government/economic systems perspective as being valuable just like the cultural/social norms perspective.
(6) In-Group Loyalty/Betrayal
Conservatives appreciate this value. Liberals give it weak support or oppose it as being contrary to the individual and a possible tool of oppression by powerful institutions like churches, political parties, fraternities and governments. Conservatives value community and individuals. All communities require forces to bind members. This infringes on perfect individual freedom but is unavoidable. Liberals remain concerned about the long history of powerful institutions doing “whatever it takes” to assume and maintain power, including taking away member’s rights. Liberals want to always emphasize the need for individual choice in making decisions to join, support and follow an organization. As conservatives worry about (4) being cheated in many dimensions of life, liberals worry about losing their individual rights and voice when they join any organization. This is a gut level, nagging concern. Yet, liberals do form strong group attachments to institutions, universities, sports teams, neighborhoods, professions, civic organizations, political parties, interest groups and churches in the lived world. Once again, greater self-awareness combined with better observation and understanding of “others” could reduce the perceived gap about what is important.
(7) Honor/Self-Worth
Another recently added moral intuition. Conservative honor is based on duty, hierarchy, and group integrity; Liberal honor is based on compassion, rights, and individual fairness. Conservatives highly value loyalty to the group and respect for authority, which are core components of traditional, collectivist “honor”. Liberal honor is less about group loyalty and more about universal human rights and compassion.
Liberals develop feelings of self-worth largely through individual achievement rather than their status as part of a family, profession, role, nation or group. Conservatives value communities more highly so see honor in the group, role or self as more important.
(8) Authority/Subversion
Conservatives greatly value a stable social order and the tools needed to build and maintain it. Liberals tend to fear oppression from powerful collective organizations, so minimize this value. This value is closest to the “essence” of liberal versus conservative views as measured by political scientists. Liberals seek new experiences while conservatives avoid unnecessary risks. Liberals could benefit from distinguishing (3) Liberty/Oppression from this value. Conservatives argue that social organizations, institutions and norms are required for any society. Proper authority must be respected to make this work. Liberals support authority for some organizations such as the government, so should be able to see the proper role of authority elsewhere.
(9) Purity/Sanctity/Degradation
Conservatives support this value, considering it obvious and universal. Liberals tend to consider it relatively unimportant. They often see conservative concerns about sex and sexual differences, racial interaction, criminals, religious beliefs and practices, flags, patriotism, foreign languages and “others” as overreactions to weak or nonexistent risks. Liberals have their own sacred items/threats such as children, abuse, animals, pollution, organic foods, fascism, locally handcrafted goods, mass transit, prejudice, microaggressions, and personal identities. Conservatives see the lack of liberal support for traditional social norms and institutions as a lack of human decency; an extreme point of view. Some liberals criticize the deeply felt support for these institutions, their leaders and symbols as being unfounded. Conservatives feel the sting of disrespect.
Summary
Humans have sets of moral intuitions that are deeply felt and often unconscious. There is a “liberal versus conservative”, “modern versus traditional” dimension that groups together sets of values. There is a long history of Western societies adopting more liberal values and fewer conservative values but there is no evidence that conservative values will disappear someday as society becomes more informed, intelligent, urban, secular, cosmopolitan, scientific and rational. Anyone who invests time studying all of these values will see that they are heartfelt, prewired intuitions. Some humans will hold each of them and consider them important.
Liberals and conservatives can both benefit from studying these values and recognizing their intrinsic validity. Individuals choose and/or hold different sets of values. They prioritize or weigh them differently. Most people acquire values informally by living life, not through explicit political, religious or philosophical choices. They have and defend their values. We will continue to hold different values. We can be civil. We can use our political system to manage these differences. Liberals, who claim to take the broader perspective and seek to find new solutions for problems, are obligated to invest in self-awareness and better understanding how others think about the world and what they can do to help everyone understand and connect.
Civility is a set of behaviors based upon the seven commonly held values of: human dignity, respect, acceptance, intentionality, responsibility, constructiveness and public-spiritedness. A social, political and economic society must have some core beliefs, norms and behaviors. The modern renaissance of Civility attempts to define the beliefs, norms and behaviors so they can be shared and promoted. We need to be confident that we know what Civility is, how we should behave, how/why we should influence others and why the underlying principles make sense.
Acceptance and Inclusion Defined
Acceptance involves tolerating, respecting, and acknowledging differences. Acceptance is being open, tolerant, non-discriminating, nonjudgemental, understanding and minimizing prejudices. It is a habitual state of mind. The differences can be personal or group characteristics, beliefs, behaviors or identities.
Inclusion is acting on the value of acceptance. It includes being present, supporting others, choosing welcoming language and behaviors and preventing or reducing social exclusion.
Inclusion is primarily shown by intentionally creating positive social environments where all individuals are welcomed and feel a sense of belonging. Individuals are respected, heard, accommodated, and supported. They feel safe, trusted and free to be authentic. They are encouraged to participate, contribute and thrive.
Acceptance and inclusion help individuals to more effectively interact with others, communicate, trust, bond, listen, center, and build awareness and community.
We emphasize “acceptance” in order to avoid the political differences regarding “inclusion” in the DEI abbreviation. Acceptance and inclusion go “hand in hand” and are necessary foundations for embracing Civility as an idea and a set of behaviors.
Acceptance and inclusion are supported by the major world religions.
Judaism (Google AI)
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Hinduism
Taoism
Shintoism
Confucianism
Secular Humanism
Summary
The major world religions support acceptance and inclusion:
All individuals have human dignity, created by God, worthy of acceptance and inclusion.
Religion is practiced in communities where diverse individuals are brought together.
The strange, vulnerable, marginalized, foreigner, widows, prisoners, and outcasts are different and must be embraced.
Individuals are commanded to be compassionate, caring and loving to all.
The spiritual dimension of individuals in communities makes them equally worthy of acceptance.
Religious rituals emphasize the unity of individuals in community practice.
The universe is one and individuals should seek harmony with all of it despite the surface level diversity.
There are multiple, fluid paths to enlightenment or connecting with God, so diversity is natural.
Many religions specifically call out the value of diversity, differences, designs, races,other religions, non-religious sectors and viewpoints.
Some religions emphasize the inherent incompatibility of the individual with the whole, yet they are complementary despite the unbridgeable differences.
Religions note the path of personal growth and learning that is driven by interacting with diverse thoughts, experiences and individuals.
Civility is a set of behaviors based upon the seven commonly held values of: human dignity, respect, acceptance, intentionality, responsibility, constructiveness and public-spiritedness. A social, political and economic society must have some core beliefs, norms and behaviors. The modern renaissance of Civility attempts to define the beliefs, norms and behaviors so they can be shared and promoted. We need to be confident that we know what Civility is, how we should behave, how/why we should influence others and why the underlying principles make sense.
Intentionality Defined
Having a deliberate plan or purpose before acting. An internal state of mind where an individual consciously chooses a course of action to achieve a specific outcome.
Intentionality weaves together two mental dimensions. It is purposeful, planned, logical, forward looking, rational, process-oriented, habitual, structured, informed, calculated, contextual, goal-oriented, practical, scope limited, applied and instrumental!
It is also deliberate, chosen, willful, volitional, proactive, conscious, engaged and intended.
Intentionality is a complement to responsibility, which refers to accountability for actions and consequences.
Taken together, they encourage us to be fully responsible for our choices, actions, consequences and relations. We are to consider all dimensions and make great choices. We are obligated to clearly define goals and seriously pursue them. We have human agency and a responsibility to be self-aware of our choices. We are obligated to work towards becoming mature, balanced, prudent, wise adults.
Intentionality is crucial to Civility because it:
Promotes proactivity over passivity.
Supports conscious, deliberate and purposeful commitment to treating others with respect, courtesy, and dignity.
Encourages self-awareness in decision making, including considering the impacts on others.
Challenges us to define our goals on a deep philosophical, spiritual or religious basis and seriously aligning our decisions and behavior with them.
Focuses on goal-oriented thinking which includes the goals of building relationships, trust and safe communities.
Emphasizes our shared responsibility for defining, supporting and reinforcing the rules of civil behavior that are mutually beneficial.
Recognizes that we are responsible for systematically evaluating, building and improving our behaviors and expectations and the norms and institutions of our communities.
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Hinduism
Taoism
Shintoism
Confucianism
Secular Humanism
Summary
The major religions offer support for being rational, considering context and consequences, being calm, balanced, focused and purposeful, but they mainly emphasize the spiritual, emotional and willful dimensions of intentionality. They encourage us to:
Begin with the end in mind (Covey). Know, follow, engage and align with God’s will or the structure of the universe. Use the power of this knowledge and connection (holy spirit) to make the best choices.
Make decisions based upon values and principles, not self-interest or practical concerns alone.
Be aware, conscious, fully present in life and making decisions. You are an agent.
Be proactive.
Be self-aware and self-disciplined.
Invest in spiritual growth to understand and connect with God/universe which will improve decision making in a self-improving cycle.
Cultivate the heart and compassion as a basis for choices.
Sincerity and proper personal intentions are critical for making choices that deliver good results and which align the person with God/universe.
An intentional person is serious about defining/prioritizing goals, making good decisions and improving themselves.
I sometimes think about “intentionality” as the weakest or marginal Civility value. Major religions consider it to be essential for a good life.
Civility is a set of behaviors based upon the seven commonly held values of: human dignity, respect, acceptance, intentionality, responsibility, constructiveness and public-spiritedness. A social, political and economic society must have some core beliefs, norms and behaviors. The modern renaissance of Civility attempts to define the beliefs, norms and behaviors so they can be shared and promoted. We need to be confident that we know what Civility is, how we should behave, how/why we should influence others and why the underlying principles make sense.
Constructiveness
Constructiveness is the quality of being helpful, productive, and tending to build up or improve something, rather than destroy it, often involving positive contributions, useful suggestions, or fostering growth and development, as seen in “constructive criticism” or a “constructive attitude”.
Positivity focuses on maintaining an optimistic outlook and good feelings, while constructive thinking is about actively building solutions, using challenges as fuel for improvement, and taking practical action, contrasting with mere positive thinking that might ignore problems. The key difference is that positivity is an attitude, whereas being constructive is a process of building or fixing, often involving acknowledging negatives to create a better outcome.
Constructiveness is applied within the domain of civility to encourage individuals to be positive, interact, search for solutions and persist. It is affirmed by liberals and conservatives in different ways.
Left views on constructiveness emphasize the construction of new systems and social change, often with an emphasis on equality, progress, and reform. This approach views knowledge and social reality as a dynamic process that can be actively reshaped.
Right views on constructiveness emphasize the preservation and maintenance of existing social orders and traditions, often prioritizing authority, hierarchy, order, and stability. This view often relies on the idea of a “constrained vision” of human nature. Constructive action in this view often relies on private institutions and individual responsibility rather than expanded government intervention, and seeks to maintain founding principles or traditional values.
Constructiveness fits within the broad sweep of progress in modern society (500 years). It is an essential part of scientific, technical and commercial progress. Philosophically, it is supported by pragmatism. Constructiveness is a valuable principle because it is effective.
Constructiveness can be opposed if it is seen as a backdoor way of introducing a liberal bias into Civility. The philosophy of radical skepticism is incompatible with constructiveness. Constructiveness mistaken for utopian positivity is easily rejected. Other strongly negative experiences, philosophies or situations oppose it. The Civility value of Responsibility supports it. Constructiveness requires mental discipline, persistence, creativity, confidence and open-mindedness.
Constructiveness is supported by the Civility values of Responsibility and Intentionality which urge individuals to be fully present and own their choices and consequences in all environments. The Civility values of Human Dignity, Respect and Public-Spiritedness emphasize the need to be constructive in group environments and consider the needs and wishes of others.
Constructiveness is based on measured positivity and optimism, searching for possibilities at each stage of the decision-making or interaction process.
Constructiveness reflects a pragmatic modern belief in progress, reason and science, based on historical experience. It provides confidence and supports persistence.
Constructiveness is process-oriented, confident that varieties of the scientific method, logic, communications, group dynamics, business methods and instrumental logic can and will deliver results when applied. It recognizes the value of habits and the accumulation of skills, steps and wisdom through repeated experiences.
Constructiveness is proactive rather than passive or reactive. It focuses on delivering results or solutions aligned with shared goals rather than being critical, deconstructive, skeptical or merely ironic.
Constructiveness is both an emotional, willful commitment to engage and a confident belief in the effectiveness of modern decision-making and relationship development tools. It applies to both results and relationships.
Constructiveness leads to the consideration of diverse possibilities at every stage: resources, experts, information, frameworks, perspectives, creativity, combinations, win/win, compromise, good-enough steps, timeframes, decision-making tools, group and project management, delay, walk away, etc. It acknowledges that the real world is often “messy”.
Constructiveness focuses on improvements, changes and incremental progress rather than searching for a single, ideal, breakthrough solution. It supports multiple iterations and finds ways around roadblocks.
Constructiveness is broadly supported by the major religious traditions. [Google AI answers].
Judaism strongly supports “constructiveness” through core concepts like Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), encouraging positive actions, personal growth, community building, and channeling emotions productively, viewing humans as co-creators with God tasked with improving the world, not just passively living in it. It emphasizes building, enhancing, and transforming the world through ethical action, kindness, and responsible leadership.
Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World): A central idea focusing on social action, justice, and making the world a better place.
Co-Creation: Jews are seen as God’s partners in creation, responsible for improving and building up the world, not just dominating it.
Mitzvot & Ethical Living: Commandments and traditions guide individuals to act constructively, with emphasis on love, kindness (chesed), justice, and wisdom.
Positive Psychology: Modern Jewish thought integrates positive psychology, focusing on virtues like resilience, creativity, and happiness to strengthen Jewish life.
Constructive Criticism (Tochachah): The commandment to rebuke others is meant to be done privately, gently, and with love, fostering improvement, not destruction.
Channeling Emotions: Tradition teaches controlling and directing powerful emotions (like anger) into positive actions rather than letting them become destructive.
Christianity
Christianity strongly supports constructiveness, focusing on edification, building up believers and the community through encouraging speech, wise actions, and positive creation, emphasizing that what is permissible should also be helpful and build character, not tear down. Biblical principles highlight using words and actions to impart grace and promote spiritual growth, not unwholesome talk or destruction.
Biblical Foundations for Constructiveness
Edification: A core concept, meaning to build up or strengthen others spiritually (1 Thessalonians 5:11, Ephesians 4:29).
Helpful Speech: Believers are encouraged to speak only what builds others up and brings grace, avoiding unwholesome talk (Ephesians 4:29).
Discernment: Christians should ask if their actions are helpful, profitable, and edifying to their spiritual life (1 Corinthians 10:23).
Truth in Love: Offering correction and criticism should be done gently, with a sincere motivation to help others grow in righteousness (Ephesians 4:15, Proverbs 9:8).
Creation: Christians are called to be creative and contribute to the world, making something beautiful and useful out of God’s creation, reflecting good and wholesome things (Genesis 1:28-31).
Islam
Islam strongly supports “constructiveness,” emphasizing positive thinking, creativity, beneficial actions, community betterment, and using intellect for problem-solving, all within a framework of divine purpose and moral values. Islamic teachings encourage building a purposeful life, contributing to society, innovating for good, and engaging in positive communication and development, contrasting with negativity or destruction.
Purposeful Creation: The Quran highlights that creation has meaning, urging humans to live according to God’s plan and make life beneficial, not wasteful.
** Intellectual Engagement (Aql):** Muslims are encouraged to use their intellect (Aql) to find solutions and understand the wisdom in creation, fostering creativity.
Positive Action & Thought: Islamic practices like prayer, charity, and remembrance (dhikr) promote positive thinking and action for individual and societal welfare.
** Benefitting Humanity:** Islam values making useful contributions to the community and the world, integrating innovation with moral values for betterment.
** Effective Communication:** Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) exemplified effective communication, valuing all people and presenting messages in ways that are understandable and impactful, a key to constructive engagement.
** Innovation within Limits:** Creativity and technology are encouraged as long as they align with ethical values and don’t lead to harm or evil.
Buddhism
Buddhism strongly supports “constructiveness,” viewing it as essential for spiritual progress and liberation, evident in concepts like constructive karma (positive actions leading to benefit) and the transformation of negative tendencies into creativity and compassion, guided by the Eightfold Path and a focus on beneficial, skillful states of mind rather than harmful ones.
Buddhist concepts of constructiveness:
Constructive Karma (Kusala Karma): Actions, speech, and thoughts that are skillful, virtuous, and lead to well-being for oneself and others, directly contrasting with destructive actions, as taught in the Dvedha Vitakka Sutta.
Transformative Practice: Buddhism encourages turning self-centeredness into concern for others, negativity into creativity, and doubt into potential, fostering a positive inner revolution.
The Eightfold Path: This path provides a framework for constructiveness, emphasizing Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, all aimed at creating positive conditions.
Constructive Phenomena: In Abhidharma, these are virtuous mental states like detachment, lack of hostility, and lack of naivety that support liberation.
Nirvana as Constructive: The ultimate goal, Nirvana, is described as stillness and constructiveness, a state beyond suffering and limitation.
Hinduism
Hinduism supports “constructiveness” through its philosophical, ethical, and metaphysical frameworks, primarily centered on the concepts of Sattva (purity/goodness), Dharma (duty/righteousness), and the creative-destructive cycle of the universe.
Taoism
Taoism does support principles that align with “constructiveness,“ but it is expressed through concepts that emphasize naturalness, simplicity, harmony, and effortless action (wu wei) rather than direct, forceful human intervention to “construct” in a Western, active-driven sense.
Key Taoist concepts related to a form of “constructiveness” include:
Harmony with Nature: Taoist thought emphasizes the need for humans to live in balance and harmony with the natural world and the Dao itself, which is the source and driving force behind the integration of all things. This balance is a form of natural “constructiveness” where one works with the flow of nature, rather than against it.
Wu Wei (Effortless Action): This principle is often misunderstood as total inaction. Instead, it means acting in a way that is aligned with the flow of the Dao, resulting in actions that are effective and constructive without struggle or force. The text Tao Te Ching suggests that by doing nothing (in the sense of acting unnaturally), nothing is left undone.
The Three Treasures: These core virtues of Taoism — compassion, frugality, and humility — provide a moral framework that naturally leads to a constructive and positive existence within a community and the world. Compassion involves sharing the sufferings of others and working for the happiness and peace of all beings.
Self-Cultivation: A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation, leading to a more harmonious existence and a deeper appreciation of the Dao. This inner work is the foundation for constructive engagement with the world.
Water Logic: Taoism is often associated with “water logic,” which involves creative, flexible problem-solving and finding a better alternative by flowing around obstacles rather than confronting them directly. This approach is inherently constructive, focusing on effectiveness and positive solutions.
Shintoism
Shintoism strongly supports “constructiveness,” not as rigid moral laws, but through its core principles of harmony with nature, purification, fostering growth, celebrating life, and developing inner moral character, which all lead to positive, constructive actions and a prosperous, balanced life. The focus on cultivating purity, self-reflection (like Amaterasu’s withdrawal and return), and connecting with the life-giving Kami naturally encourages actions that build well-being for individuals and the community.
Key Elements Supporting Constructiveness:
Harmony & Nature: Shinto sees Kami (divine spirits) in nature, promoting respect and a balanced coexistence, essential for a sustainable, constructive culture.
Purity (Harae): Rituals and practices aim to cleanse impurity (kegare), purifying body, mind, and spirit for positive intent and action.
Growth & Prosperity: The religion is fundamentally life-affirming, focused on growth, happiness, and prosperity through connection with nature and benevolent Kami.
Inner Moral Cultivation: Practices like Chinkon (soul pacification) and the story of Amaterasu emphasize developing inner character, benevolence, and self-examination to overcome challenges constructively.
Contextual Ethics: Good or bad is judged by context, intention, and purpose, encouraging thoughtful, constructive responses rather than absolute rules.
Confucianism
Confucianism strongly supports “constructiveness,” not as a modern psychological term, but through core virtues like Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), and Li (propriety) that guide individuals to build harmonious relationships, develop moral character, and contribute positively to society, emphasizing self-improvement and ethical action as constructive forces. While it encourages stability, it also values growth, adaptation in teaching, and managing conflict constructively within relationships through concepts like sacrifice and appropriate conduct, though emphasis on tradition can sometimes challenge radical innovation.
Ren(Humanity/Benevolence): Fosters empathy and care, motivating people to act for the good of others, which is inherently constructive.
Yi(Righteousness/Duty): Provides a moral compass, guiding individuals to do what is right, promoting ethical behavior and fairness in actions.
Li(Propriety/Ritual): Establishes proper conduct and social order, creating stable environments where people can interact constructively.
Self-Cultivation: Emphasizes continuous learning and moral growth, viewing adversity as a chance to develop virtuous traits and build inner strength, a very constructive process.
Constructive Conflict Management: In relationships, it promotes pro-relationship behaviors, like sacrifice, to manage disagreements and maintain harmony, notes this University Blog Service article.
Adaptive Teaching: Principles like “teaching according to aptitude” suggest flexible, person-centered methods to impart knowledge and morality, a constructive approach to education.
Secular Humanism
Secular humanism strongly supports constructiveness, viewing it as a core ethical principle for building a better world through reason, compassion, and human flourishing, even though it might be framed differently than in religious contexts, often focusing on human-centered betterment rather than divine mandates. Key tenets like improving life, fostering understanding, promoting societal progress, and using ethics for good align directly with “constructiveness,” emphasizing positive action and building ethical, thriving communities without supernatural reliance.
How Constructiveness Manifests in Secular Humanism:
Focus on Human Flourishing: The goal is to create a world where humans thrive, using critical thinking and empathy to solve problems and improve conditions.
Ethical Action: It promotes active, positive engagement in society to build justice, compassion, and understanding, rather than passive acceptance or reliance on divine intervention.
Rational Problem-Solving: Constructiveness involves using human reason and scientific understanding to address challenges and build better systems, from governance to social welfare
Community Building: Humanists strive to create strong, inclusive communities through dialogue, mutual respect, and shared responsibility, aligning with the “civility” values often discussed alongside constructiveness.
Combating Negativity: It stands against nihilism, despair, and destructive ideologies, promoting hope and proactive efforts for positive change.
Skepticism and polarization work against Civility. Constructiveness is a critical value that must be defined, taught, applied and turned into behavioral habits. The broad march of history is positive and constructive. Religious traditions require constructiveness for a good life. We must embrace this essential principle.
Civility is a set of behaviors based upon the seven commonly held values of: human dignity, respect, acceptance, intentionality, responsibility, constructiveness and public-spiritedness. A social, political and economic society must have some core beliefs, norms and behaviors. The modern renaissance of Civility attempts to define the beliefs, norms and behaviors so they can be shared and promoted. We need to be confident that we know what Civility is, how we should behave, how/why we should influence others and why the underlying principles make sense. Human dignity is the first principle or value underlying the Civility behaviors. It is a universally held value. In our skeptical, individualistic, subjective, relativistic era, it is essential for everyone to deeply understand the meaning of and broad support for this value. [9 Google AI summaries]
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
Hinduism
Taoism
Shintoism
Confucianism
Secular Humanism
Summary
Human dignity is at the heart of each worldview: image of God, gifted by God, preciousness of human birth, inherent divinity, self-so-ness, children of the kami, moral potential, shared humanity and moral agency.
Each worldview also has a complement to the solitary individual: public shaming, sanctity of life, sacredness of life, interconnectedness, one family, ancestral honor, roles, and rationality.
Human dignity is essential for any religious, political, philosophical, or social paradigm. Civility begins with “human dignity”.
Civility is a set of behaviors based upon a set of values. It is adopted and grown by individuals based upon their conscious and unconscious experiences. The practice of Civility tends to promote Civility in others. Unchecked incivility tends to destroy Civility. The practice of Civility depends upon a communications, interaction and problem-solving process. The social commitment to Civility depends upon the rate and intensity of practice and the frequency and impact of responses to incivility. Civility is a social value that is partly conscious and partly unconscious.
Chaos Theory
OK!!! Once we start to investigate dynamic systems, the words and concepts get abstract and “questionable” pretty quickly. Complex systems are unstable. Small changes can cause large impacts. I share this because I think that Civility is a social system subject to this kind of dynamic, nonlinear change.
Emergent Systems
OK!!! Civility is an emergent property of people interacting. Simple, positive interactions promote more positive interactions. AI is trying to describe the idea of virtuous cycles and vicious cycles on a knife’s edge. Civility is a fragile concept and practice.
Managing Incivility
We have mixed advice. Some uncivil behaviors are so toxic they must be opposed. Yet, limiting free speech is against the core beliefs of Civility.
Civility, like other cultural norms, does not disappear quickly, it persists.
Tipping Point
Civility is positioned to survive. There are many individuals and groups with the incentive and capability to defend and promote Civility.
Summary
Overall, I am optimistic about the survival and progress of Civility today, December 15, 2025.
POST SCRIPT
In the process of using Google AI today, I am now EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT THE SINGULARITY IS ABOUT TO OCCUR SOON. The responses to my complex questions are at least an order of magnitude more insightful than they were just a few days ago!
Civility has operated for a few hundred years without a brand manager. It has acquired several unfortunate associations through the years. It is commonly seen as just surface level politeness and etiquette, a magic wand problem solver, an impractical emotional approach or an apologist for passivity, power, the status quo, righteousness, the right or the left. Properly defined, Civility is not an easily discounted simplistic answer to our cultural challenges.
Civility Is …
Civility is a set of behaviors that recognizes differences and builds mutual respect: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, communications, growth and problem solving.
It is based on 7 nonpartisan values: human dignity, respect, acceptance, responsibility, intentionality, constructiveness and public-spiritedness.
Inherently Complex
Civility is primarily a set of habits, skills or behaviors that are used to interact with others. There are 7 groups and many specific behaviors in applied Civility. These behaviors are learned, applied, improved and based upon modern behavioral science.
There are also 7 values, principles or virtues that lie beneath the behaviors. They are nonpartisan, commonly held ideas consistent with many political, religious and philosophical systems.
These values have been identified through time as being necessary for effective interactions. They are not derived from any specific religious, political or philosophical system. No one value is the basis for the system, although “human dignity” seems to have the greatest power in driving behaviors and inspiring commitment to Civility. Descriptions of individual behaviors are shaped by the values. There are clear expectations of good behaviors and contrasting taboos.
Civility requires a commitment to engage with others in order to effectively communicate and resolve differences. As such, extraverts have a natural advantage in practicing Civility. Fortunately, the modern behavioral sciences provide training and experiences to help introverts to be “fully effective” even if it requires greater effort.
Civility embraces thinking, feeling and doing. The values and behaviors require all 3 dimensions of life.
The behaviors are inherently practical, applied and specific. The values are more abstract, intellectual and philosophical.
Embracing and applying Civility requires practical and abstract thinking, feeling and doing.
Civility emphasizes “perceiving” in its human dignity, respect, acceptance, constructiveness and public-spiritedness values. It emphasizes “judging” in its responsibility and intentionality values.
Civility focuses inward with self-awareness and self-management skills. It focuses outward for communications, social awareness and relationship management. It balances the needs and importance of the individual with those of the community.
The Whole Process
The Civility model focuses on the process of personal interactions to solve problems and manage relationships. It assumes repeated interactions that encourage participants to invest in relationships and seek long-term results. The process is expected to be iterative, encouraging participation and engagement. Results are not predetermined. Goals are clarified. Positions are shared. Solutions are proposed. Feedback and responses are welcomed. Choices are negotiated. Civility assumes a dynamic process is employed.
Civility skills and values are held by all individuals. They acquire these views throughout life. They apply these conscious and unconscious approaches in all areas of life, formal and informal. Civility norms and expectations are different in different groups and settings. Civil behavior encourages civil behavior. Uncivil behavior is sometimes shunned, encouraged or accepted. A virtuous cycle or a vicious cycle can occur.
Civility values and skills are learned and perfected through application, usage and feedback.
Nonpartisan
Civility is actively nonpartisan. Its proponents accept the results of “Moral Foundations Theory” that there are 6-9 deeply held human views that underly political (and some religious) beliefs. Individuals and political groups disagree about which are most important. Civility is not positioned to resolve these differences. It is designed to help well-meaning individuals understand each other, find common ground and negotiate results that also support relationships and the process. Civility offers a process that allows individuals and groups to maintain their views and still work effectively with others.
Civility attempts to avoid its own “righteousness”. It offers a tested process to facilitate certain interactions. It does not claim to have final religious, political or philosophical answers. It does not claim that its values, behaviors and processes will always produce good results or resolve conflicts. It acknowledges that our understanding of values and ability to implement them through behaviors is imperfect. It recognizes that “best practices” in any of the social sciences evolve through time. Civility attempts to make explicit its values, beliefs and understandings and promote them in clear, transparent ways.
Human dignity, respect and acceptance require a mature perspective. They are not easy to deeply understand, practice or master. They focus on the essence of individuals in a social environment.
Responsibility, intentionality and constructiveness are also “stretch” values. They also require us to consider the required relationship between the individual and others. It is not simple. Our obligation to others requires perspective and some broader moral framework. Building a commitment to these values requires feedback, support, experience and moral perseverance.
Public-spiritedness also requires a balance between the individual and the environment. Aside from a few saints, humans are not capable of living solely for others. They must balance these needs, wants and desires. Civility does not define how much “public spiritedness” is enough. It requires each individual to consider this difficult topic.
Summary
Civility encompasses values and behaviors, a dynamic process and personal growth. It offers a process solution to our common differences and potential conflicts. It has many component parts that change through time for each person. The core components can be learned and applied by everyone. The basics are easy. Practicing and perfecting Civility values and skills is the good work of a lifetime, worthy of our human dignity.
Good News 