Tribalism and the conditions for moral narrowing under humean lens

Abstract

Tribalism can be seen as an instinct rooted in our psychology, since human ability to coalition made the survival of our species possible. Our societies evolved relying on cooperation along with the most sophisticated interpersonal tool: morality. Despite tribalism, humans were also capable of creating inclusive morals, widening the moral circle. However, contemporary conflicts show that intrasocial exclusionary tribalism does not disappear easily. In this paper I intend to delimit the conditions that allow a regression to exclusionary tribalism; a tribalism that adopts a selective morality and corrupts an inclusive morality. This article explores the following question: how separatist beliefs are enlivened and encourage groups in the same society to exclude other groups from their moral circle? This work combines evolutionary theories, social psychology experiments with some of David Hume's assumptions and his explanation of the formation of our beliefs. The objective is to elucidate the process that enables the moral narrowing characteristic of tribalism. The result is an introductory work on the identification of situational, dispositional, epistemic and moral domains, elements that have the potential to alter cognitive and moral judgments, triggering a return to exclusionary tribalism and a consequent moral narrowing.