Welcome!
My name is Daniel and I’m a social psychologist. I’ve spent more than a decade researching how people make decisions. I’m particularly interested in how people make moral decisions—that is, how they decide between right and wrong—and the consequences these decisions have individuals, relationships, and society. This blog is my chance to share the things I’ve learned with my community.
Click here for my personal/professional website.
What’s with the title?
The Partial Spectator comes from an image introduced by the Scottish philosopher, Adam Smith. While Smith is best known for his book on capitalism, The Wealth of Nations, in my view it’s his lesser-known book, A Theory of Moral Sentiments, that’s most insightful.
In that book, Smith suggests that people’s moral behavior is guided by a “Impartial Spectator”—an imaginary observer who evaluates our behavior without bias.
As an (admittedly biased) observer of human behavior, I thought this was a fitting title for my blog.
It is only by consulting this judge within, this impartial spectator, that we can ever see what relates to ourselves in its proper shape and dimensions; or that we can ever make any proper comparison between our own interests and those of other people.
- Adam Smith
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