Why can a person's life principles change? A psychologist explains

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A person’s moral views can change throughout life not merely due to self-interest or inconsistency, but because of the emergence of new reasons and considerations deemed relevant, according to psychologist Audun Dahl from Cornell University. Citing Psychology Today on Tuesday (23/6), in his book “Between Fixed and Fickle: Why Our Moral Views Keep Changing”, Dahl explains that many people tend to regard their own moral beliefs as fixed and indisputable. Yet when encountering others with different views, they often attribute such differences to self-interest, emotions, or faulty reasoning. Dahl calls this mindset “fixed and fickle”, the tendency to see one’s own moral views as correct and stable, whilst viewing others’ views as easily changeable or influenced by non-moral factors. According to him, this explanation has a weakness because it is rarely applied to oneself. Most people, Dahl says, do not see the changes in their moral views from childhood to adulthood as the result of thinking errors or self-interest. On the contrary, they tend to regard such changes as development towards a better understanding. Dahl argues that changes in moral views usually occur because a person finds new reasons that are considered sensible. He identifies three main factors driving such change. First, a person can develop new moral concerns. For instance, the belief emerges that all humans, including future generations, have equal rights. Second, a person can build new connections between existing moral values and issues previously overlooked. For example, one might realise that current fossil fuel use could harm future generations due to climate change. Third, a person can change the way they balance various competing moral interests. According to Dahl, someone might decide that small sacrifices today, such as reducing air travel or meat consumption, are worthwhile to protect the environment for future generations. He emphasises that understanding the reasons behind changes in moral views is different from judging whether those changes are good or bad. “Science can help explain why moral views change, but it cannot determine how moral views should change,” Dahl said. According to him, curiosity about the reasons behind a person’s changing views can help create better understanding compared to immediately assuming differences of opinion are a form of inconsistency or self-interest.