It appears that you’ve provided a summary or an excerpt from an essay discussing the perception of moral progress and how it can often be annoying or feel preachy to individuals. The authors, Daniel Kelly and Evan Westra, seem to be exploring the psychology behind why people might resist moral progress and find the advocacy surrounding it irritating.
To answer your implicit question about why moral progress feels preachy and annoying, here are some insights based on the excerpt:
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Challenging Behavior and Beliefs: Moral progress often requires changes in deeply ingrained behaviors and beliefs. People are creatures of habit, and having to reevaluate their actions based on new ethical standards can be uncomfortable and annoying.
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Resistance to Change: Change, in general, can be unsettling. When moral progress requires altering social norms, there is often resistance because it disrupts the status quo.
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Perceived Judgment: Moral progress usually involves some form of judgment on past or current practices. Being judged or made to feel inadequate can provoke a defensive response, making the message of moral progress come across as preachy.
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Difference in Priorities: Individuals might agree with the end goal of moral progress but disagree with the methods. For instance, they may support animal welfare but find veganism preachy as a means to that end.
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Contextual Ethics: People may act ethically within one context but not translate that to another. For example, they might be kind to animals in their home but not consider the implications of their dietary choices.
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Emotional Responses: The emotional reaction to moral advocacy, such as annoyance, can be a protective mechanism. It distances individuals from the message, allowing them to maintain their current beliefs and behaviors.
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Mistaken Gut Reactions: The essay suggests that people often rely on gut reactions to moral issues, which can be misleading. What feels right intuitively might not align with deeper ethical reasoning.
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Social Dynamics: Moral progress can be seen as an imposition on social dynamics. For example, being asked to share pronouns might feel like an overreach to some, even if the intent is to be more inclusive.
Understanding why moral progress can be annoying or feel preachy is important for advocates, as it can inform better strategies for promoting change that are less likely to provoke defensiveness or resistance. It’s also crucial to recognize that what is considered moral progress is subject to the cultural and historical context of the time, and what is deemed progressive today might be seen as standard or even regressive in the future.
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