Moral Relevance Question: “ Whether or not someone was able to control his or her desires ” ( Graham et al., 2009, p. 1044) Although the concept of purity is referenced in many religious and moral codes, it was widely ignored in early moral psychology research, which focused on principles of justice ( Kohlberg, 1981) and causing and preventing physical harm ( Turiel, 1983). The superstitious rituals and taboos that fell under the mantle of purity were discounted as matters of mere religious or social convention ( Kohlberg, 1981; Turiel et al., 1987). Conze, Edward (2013), Buddhist Thought in India: Three Phases of Buddhist Philosophy, Routledge, pp.39–40, ISBN 978-1134542314 About the brand: Philosophy is a wellbeing beauty brand that promotes healthy skin and a healthy lifestyle with products that embrace science and dermatological innovation. About My Skin: Oily, sensitive, and moody a) in one sense, the genesis of growing things — as would be suggested by pronouncing the υ of φύσις [9] long—and

In a perfect world, a construct could be defined based on a set of necessary and sufficient features. But as Wittgenstien realized when trying to define the concept of a “game,” strict definitions are elusive even for simple constructs (see Kenny, 1973). Nevertheless, it is possible to generally define a construct such that it captures much of the key features; as proof, one needs to look only to the existence of dictionaries. Consider birds—although some birds do not fly, they generally do fly, and at least we can say that they generally have wings. Likewise, although there is one mammal that lays eggs (the platypus), we can say that mammals are generally furry warm-blooded animals that give live birth and nurse their young. Notice that these definitions outline concrete and specific properties that we should expect to find in exemplars—even if those properties are only found probabilistically.Purity is the lynchpin of much of modern moral psychology. The idea of “harmless wrongs” captured the imagination of moral psychologists and broadened the scope of morality beyond the d) the primary stuff, shapeless and unchangeable from its own potency, of which any natural object consists or from which it is produced; e.g., bronze is called the "nature" of a statue and of bronze articles, and wood that of wooden ones, and similarly in all other cases. For each article consists of these "natures," the primary material persisting. It is in this sense that men call the elements of natural objects the "nature," some calling it fire, others earth or air or water, others something else similar, others some of these, and others all of them. Again in another sense "nature" means The artificial, like the conventional therefore, is within this branch of Western thought, traditionally contrasted with the natural. Technology was contrasted with science, as mentioned above. And another essential aspect to this understanding of causation was the distinction between the accidental properties of a thing and the substance - another distinction which has lost favor in the modern era, after having long been widely accepted in medieval Europe. Another issue is that claims about purity often verge on the tautological, which makes it difficult to fundamentally explain concepts. When attempting to explain (or define) a concept X, one must invoke other concepts ( Y& Z) and these concepts cannot be the same concept as the one being explained ( X). You cannot define a concept with itself. Consider how we might explain flight. To explain how birds fly, one could invoke their hollow bones, the shape of their wings, and the lightness of feathers. One could not adequately explain flight by invoking the presence of “being able to fly” or the absence of “flightlessness,” because these concepts are tautological. Littlejohn, Ronnie (2010), Confucianism: An Introduction, I.B. Tauris, pp.34–36, ISBN 978-1-84885-174-0

Jayatilleke, K.N. (1963). Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge (PDF) (1st ed.). London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. pp. 112–113.

Living Ethically in Compromised Times

Moral Relevance Question: “ Whether or not someone did something unnatural or degrading” Moral Judgment Question: “ I would call some acts wrong on the grounds that they are unnatural or disgusting.” ( Graham et al., 2009, p. 1044) Ben-Ami Scharfstein (1998), A comparative history of world philosophy: from the Upanishads to Kant, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 9-11 Historical discussions of impurity often highlighted how impure acts could lead to harm. Kellogg suggested that impure foods, thoughts, and behaviors could all undermine physical health and the functioning of society ( Kellogg, 1888). Brahmin Indians believe that impure acts following someone’s death could result in that person being forever condemned to purgatory ( Shweder et al., 1997). However, to the eyes of Western moral psychologists, these acts seemed objectively harmless, and this apparent harmlessness was a force behind both moral pluralism and moral intuitionism. If moral psychology, under the leadership of Kohlberg, focused on how WEIRD men (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic; Gilligan, 1993) reasoned about harm, then the new moral psychology ( Haidt, 2007) explored how more diverse groups intuitively reacted to considerations beyond obvious physical/emotional harm.

To examine how purity is understood in moral psychology, we retrieved all papers that contained the word “purity” either in the title, abstract, or text, and which were published between 1990 and 2019 in any peer-reviewed journal contained within the PsycInfo archive. Our search yielded a final corpus of 158 papers which defined moral purity in the main text, with 135 of these papers operationalizing/measuring moral purity. 3Unfortunately, many of purity’s explanations and definitions are tautological, explaining purity-related questions by invoking the concept of purity or impurity. Consider this quote from a classic paper on intuitionism: Carrithers, Michael (June 1989). "Naked Ascetics in Southern Digambar Jainism". Man. New Series. 24 (2): 219–235. doi: 10.2307/2803303. JSTOR 2803303. p. 220

Whether it was intended or not, Aristotle's inquiries into this subject were long felt to have resolved the discussion about nature in favor of one solution. In this account, there are four different types of cause: Research in India, Brazil, and the United States, for example, has found that people who are less Westernized treat many issues related to food, sex, clothing, prayer, and gender roles as moral issues [...], even when they involve no harm to any person. ” (p. 1030) “And lastly, virtues of purity and sanctity that play such a large role in religious laws [respect for God] matched writings on the evolution of disgust [disgust] and contamination sensitivity [pathogen avoidance] [...]. Practices related to purity and pollution must be understood as serving more than hygienic functions. Such practices also serve social functions, including marking off the group’s cultural boundaries [...] and suppressing the selfishness [self-control] often associated with humanity’s carnal nature (e.g., lust [chastity/sexual taboos], hunger, material greed) by cultivating a more spiritual mindset [spiritual integrity ]” ( Graham et al., 2009, p. 1031)Trainor, Kevin (2004), Buddhism: The Illustrated Guide, Oxford University Press, p.74, ISBN 978-0195173987 Bacon and other opponents of Metaphysics claim that all attempts to go beyond nature are bound to fall into the same errors, but Metaphysicians themselves see differences between different approaches. Understandings of nature depend on the subject and age of the work where they appear. For example, Aristotle's explanation of natural properties differs from what is meant by natural properties in modern philosophical and scientific works, which can also differ from other scientific and conventional usage. Already in classical times, philosophical use of these words combined two related meanings which have in common that they refer to the way in which things happen by themselves, "naturally", without "interference" from human deliberation, divine intervention, or anything outside what is considered normal for the natural things being considered.