I would love to hear what Old Testament /Hebrew Bible scholars make of this. . . .is there a psychological connection between perception of physical cleanliness and commitment to moral cleanliness?The moral issues they discussed could each be argued to involve a certain amount of pollution --smoking, illegal drug use, pornography, profane language, littering and adultery. In one of the best books I've ever read, Joel Feinberg's Offending Others, he argues that there is a distinct class of judgments called "charientic judgments" that get at an "ick factor" produced by, say, bodily fluids, small squishy bugs, every single episode of CSI, etc. One wonders whether, although these are moral issues, the target study group was more concentrated on their charientic aspect.I wonder whether there is a connection with moral issues that don't have that a charientic connotation, such as theft, or embezzlement, etc.HT Daily Dish

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor in the Theology Department and Law School at Boston College.

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