Deep in our evolutionary past, the constant threat of becoming prey shaped not just how our ancestors survived — but potentially how we make every moral judgment today. That's the argument from moral psychologist Kurt Gray, who believes our ancient fears still drive modern ethical debates from abortion to immigration.
"If you want to know what someone sees as wrong, your best bet is to figure out what they see as harmful," explains Gray in his new book Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground, as reported in The New Yorker. While previous theories suggested we use multiple mental "modules" to make moral choices, Gray argues that a single emotion — the perception of harm — underlies all ethical reasoning. This harm-detection system, honed when our ancestors were dodging predators, now shapes how we view everything from political battles to PTA meetings.
The theory helps explain why people can look at the same issue and reach wildly different moral conclusions. "Moral disagreements can still arise even if we all share a harm-based moral mind, because liberals and conservatives disagree about who is especially vulnerable to victimization," Gray notes.
But this shared foundation of harm-detection suggests solutions. Gray's research shows that when people share personal stories of harm rather than arguing with facts, they're more likely to find common ground. As he puts it, "Respect is easiest to build with harm-based storytelling." Though in our polarized times, even this approach faces challenges — our ancient instinct to detect threats may be working overtime, seeing dangers that aren't really there. "Millions of years of being hunted have made us preoccupied with danger," Gray writes. "But without saber-toothed cats to fear, we fret about elections, arguments in group texts, and decisions at PTA meetings."
Previously:
• Rewriting 'fear' memories
• Welcome to Fear City: a guide to scare tourists away from NYC
• Denmark's Recreational Fear Lab studies the science of why we love horror