Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

The Social Psychology of Morality: Exploring the causes   of Good and Evil Edited by     Mario Mikulincer &     Phillip R. Shaver Reviewed by       Kayla Jordan  &  Geoffrey W Sutton Psychological scientists have built on the ideas put forth by philosophers for centuries. Surveys, laboratory studies, and theory building have significantly expanded our understanding of how people determine what is moral. This handbook includes the work of 40 authors and is published by the American Psychological Association. Our article was published as a featured review in the Journal of Psychology and Theology (Jordan & Sutton, 2012). I (Sutton) draw on that article in this summary. My purpose is to provide readers with an overview of the contents of this sizable volume. I will also comment on my follow-up work to fill a need identified by Roy Baumeister and Jesse Graham in the conclusion chapter. The edi...

UNPROTECTED TEXTS The Bible’s Surprising Contradictions   about Sex and Desire Author:   Jennifer Wright Knust Date: 2011 Reviewed by   Geoffrey W. Sutton Knust’s book, Unprotected Texts , has an intriguing title for anyone thinking about the sex-related moral issues constantly in the news. I purchased a copy of her book as I was writing A House Divided: Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures , and I’m glad I did because I referenced some of her insights. Knust has impressive credentials. At the time she wrote Unprotected Texts , Knust had a Ph.D., from Columbia University and was an Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Boston University School of Theology. She’s also an ordained American Baptist pastor. Unprotected Texts is a well written book, which addresses biblical sex in six chapters with primary titles that do not easily identify the subject matter until you’ve read a few pages.  ...

THE RIGHTEOUS MIND:     WHY GOOD PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED    BY POLITICS AND RELIGION By     Jonathan Haidt Reviewed by     Geoffrey W. Sutton In The Righteous Mind , Haidt provides readers with a review of moral psychology research, which continues to be helpful in analyzing the culture wars between religious and political groups. I was introduced to the work by an exceptional undergraduate psychology major, Kayla Jordan, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in Social Psychology. Our published academic review is available online . In this review, I provide a summary and some thoughts about the usefulness of Haidt's approach. Haidt's work is organized around three principles of morality. First,  “intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second,” Drawing on the philosophy of Hume and supported by research, Haidt explains how so much of morality is governed by emotion driven, automatic thinking, rather than cool, rationa...