The Notion Of Harm And Its Role In Moral Judgments. An Open Debate

Researchers belonging to the tradition of cognitive-developmental psychology have suggested in their studies that the perception of harm is central to the moral domain. This unifying proposal has provoked the criticisms of researchers working in Cultural Psychology. Haidt published in 1993 a very influential study, claiming to have found evidence for the existence of moral domains not linked to the notion of harm. In this paper, we briefly present the debate around the content of the moral domains. We then critically examine the study by Haidt et al. (1993). Finally, we present experimental results that question the conclusions of that study and suggest that the debate is still open.