Some Conditions for Genuine Admiration Regarding Moral Theory and Moral Education

“There is no single word commonly used in English to describe an emotional response to witnessing acts of virtue or moral beauty” [1]. “Elevation” is employed by Algoe and Haidt, drawing from the work of Thomas Jefferson, to delineate this particular emotional response. In contrast, admiration is de...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Mares, Sara, Fuentes, Juan Luis
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
Repositorio:RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riucv.ucv.es:20.500.12466/5830
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12466/5830
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:5312.04 Educación
72 Filosofía
Descripción
Sumario:“There is no single word commonly used in English to describe an emotional response to witnessing acts of virtue or moral beauty” [1]. “Elevation” is employed by Algoe and Haidt, drawing from the work of Thomas Jefferson, to delineate this particular emotional response. In contrast, admiration is defined as “a strong emotional response to extraordinarily talented, powerful, or famous people” [2]. A salient aspect shared by both emotions is the desire among admirers to emulate the virtuous role model and become better persons; however, only elevation does something praiseworthy in “the moral domain”. According to the authors, the foundation of the definition in the field of affective sciences is Darwinian. For this reason, two things should not come as a surprise. First, the object of admiration is the valuation of someone’s status, power, and talent. Second, admiration serves an adaptive function: “As humans were becoming cultural creatures who did most of their learning by copying others, it became adaptive to find the best role models to copy. Individuals who excel in any culturally valued skill therefore draw attention and followers”