R Re Ea as so on N a an Nd D T Th He E ' 'y Yu Uc Ck K' ' F Fa Ac Ct to or R Student Writer Competition Judges' Report

WHAT is your reaction to this scenario? Is this act right or wrong? Perhaps you are revolted or disgusted, and therefore think it is wrong. Or maybe, like most moral philosophers, you make a more reasoned judgement and argue that, regardless of our emotional response, this act is not immoral, principally because no harm has occurred to any sentient being. If you thought it was wrong, does this sort of reasoning change your mind? Or do you, like most people, still have an uneasy feeling in your stomach? You can’t explain why it’s wrong – it just ‘feels’ wrong. Are you what psychologist Jonathan Haidt (2001) would call ‘morally dumbfounded’? Most current theories of moral development are based on a rationalist cognitive approach, which emphasises the role of reason in making moral decisions. It seems, however, from our reactions to the scenario above, that both gut feelings – emotions – and deliberative reasoning play a part in the formation of moral judgements. Contrary to traditional thinking, emotions seem to play the larger role. New hypotheses and research in moral psychology has ignited a fresh debate about whether reason or emotion causes everyday moral judgements – prompting a revision of traditional cognitive theories of moral development. Debates about moral decision-making are not new. In the 18th century, Both reason and emotion inform moral judgements, but