These effective strategies can minimize harmful moral grandstanding – in yourself and in others.
Moral grandstanding may have very serious consequences for social discourse, but calling it out and shaming moral grandstanders is unproductive, says Brandon Warmke.
To defeat moral grandstanding, you can do several things. Before posting anything online, ask yourself: 'Am I doing this to do good or am I doing this to look good?'. You can deny attention and praise to moral grandstanders, and you can redirect your own impulse to signal morality into actual volunteer work instead of online posts.
Brandon Warmke, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University. He is currently writing two books, Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk and Why It’s OK to Mind Your Own Business, both with philosopher Justin Tosi.