Haidt is known for his sociological studies. In this case, he analyzes the morality of American society, which shares some similarities with our own, through cultural psychology. The author defines himself as an evolutionary atheist and relies on what he calls the theory of moral foundations, where he distinguishes six “psychological systems” that fulfill the universal moral foundations of the many “moral matrices” found in the world.
“Moral systems are sets of values, virtues, norms, practices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms that work together to suppress or regulate self-interest and make cooperative societies possible.”
It is a functionalist conception, as it defines morality by what it does and by what is visible in society. At no point does he speak of virtues or sins; this does not interest him, just as personal morality does not interest him either.
He distinguishes a series of subsystems that operate in two opposing directions: care/harm; fairness/cheating; loyalty/betrayal; authority/subversion; and sanctity/degradation. From here, he constructs his moral and political sociology: among progressives, some predominate, while among conservatives, others do.
Religion is another social structure, following, above all, Durkheim and Wilson, who merged the ideas of Darwin and Durkheim. Haidt’s evolutionism is limited, as he is aware of the totalitarian consequences of social Darwinism.
The book is broad, covering many and very diverse topics, concluding that there are no good or bad acts, since everything is based on a mind designed for group justice. Morality is, following Hume, intuitive: it is instincts that drive strategic reasoning, and this explains the difficulty of connecting with those who live in other “moral matrices,” based on different moral foundations.