Status

2021 ◽  
pp. 109-136
Author(s):  
Shaun Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Inference ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Universal Truth ◽  
Consensus Information ◽  
Do So

Moral judgments are often regarded as universally true, whereas judgments of taste are taken to be only true relative to some group or individual. How could such meta-evaluative assessments be acquired? This chapter argues that people use consensus information to arrive at such assessments, and that it is rational to do so. Statistical inference mandates a trade-off between the extent to which a hypothesis fits the data, and the extent to which the hypothesis is flexible in its ability to fit a wider range of data. If almost everyone agrees in their judgments, this provides some reason to endorse a universalist hypothesis, according to which there is a single fact that the majority is tracking. So if almost everyone thinks that a certain action is wrong, the high consensus provides some evidence that it’s a universal truth that this action is wrong. The inference that it’s a universal truth that an action is wrong can also ground the judgment that the action is wrong in a way that is independent of authority. Thus, this might also provide an explanation for the acquisition of the moral/conventional distinction.

scholarly journals The aerodynamic puzzle of nasalized fricatives: Aerodynamic and perceptual evidence from Scottish Gaelic

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Warner ◽  
Daniel Brenner ◽  
Jessamyn Schertz ◽  
Andrew Carnie ◽  
Muriel Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scottish Gaelic ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Instrumental Data ◽  
The World ◽  
Perceptual Evidence ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Do So

AbstractScottish Gaelic is sometimes described as having nasalized fricatives (/ṽ/ distinctively, and [f̃, x̃, h̃], etc. through assimilation). However, there are claims that it is not aerodynamically possible to open the velum for nasalization while maintaining frication noise. We present aerodynamic data from 14 native Scottish Gaelic speakers to determine how the posited nasalized fricatives in this language are realized. Most tokens demonstrate loss of nasalization, but nasalization does occur in some contexts without aerodynamic conflict, e.g., nasalization with the consonant realized as an approximant, nasalization of [h̃], nasalization on the preceding vowel, or sequential frication and nasalization. Furthermore, a very few tokens do contain simultaneous nasalization and frication with a trade-off in airflow. We also present perceptual evidence showing that Gaelic listeners can hear this distinction slightly better than chance. Thus, instrumental data from one of the few languages in the world described as having nasalized fricatives confirms that the claimed sounds are not made by producing strong nasalization concurrently with clear frication noise. Furthermore, although speakers most often neutralize the nasalization, when they maintain it, they do so through a variety of phonetic mechanisms, even within a single language.

scholarly journals Do Moral Judgements Motivate Free Will Belief?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Elliott Monroe ◽  
Dominic Ysidron
Keyword(s):  
Free Will ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Attribution Theory ◽  
Replication Study ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Experiment Study ◽  
Norm Violation ◽  
Immoral Behavior ◽  
Moral Judgements ◽  
Do So

Free will is often appraised as a necessary input to for holding others morally or legally responsible for misdeeds. Recently, however, Clark and colleagues (2014), argued for the opposite causal relationship. They assert that moral judgments and the desire to punish motivate people’s belief in free will. In three experiments—two exact replications (Studies 1 & 2b) and one close replication (Study 2a) we seek to replicate these findings. Additionally, in a novel experiment (Study 3) we test a theoretical challenge derived from attribution theory, which suggests that immoral behaviors do not uniquely influence free will judgments. Instead, our nonviolation model argues that norm deviations, of any kind—good, bad, or strange—cause people to attribute more free will to agents, and attributions of free will are explained via desire inferences. Across replication experiments we found no evidence for the original claim that witnessing immoral behavior causes people to increase their belief in free will, though we did replicate the finding that people attribute more free will to agents who behave immorally compared to a neutral control (Studies 2a & 3). Finally, our novel experiment demonstrated broad support for our norm-violation account, suggesting that people’s willingness to attribute free will to others is malleable, but not because people are motivated to blame. Instead, this experiment shows that attributions of free will are best explained by people’s expectations for norm adherence, and when these expectations are violated people infer that an agent expressed their free will to do so.

scholarly journals Priming intuition disfavors instrumental harm but not impartial beneficence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerio Capraro ◽  
Jim Albert Charlton Everett ◽  
Brian D. Earp
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Model ◽  
Total N ◽  
Two Dimensional Model ◽  
Do So

Understanding the cognitive underpinnings of moral judgment is one of most pressing problems in psychological science. Some highly-cited studies suggest that reliance on intuition decreases utilitarian (expected welfare maximizing) judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas in which one has to decide whether to instrumentally harm (IH) one person to save a greater number of people. However, recent work suggests that such dilemmas are limited in that they fail to capture the positive, defining core of utilitarianism: commitment to impartial beneficence (IB). Accordingly, a new two-dimensional model of utilitarian judgment has been proposed that distinguishes IH and IB components. The role of intuition on this new model has not been studied. Does relying on intuition disfavor utilitarian choices only along the dimension of instrumental harm or does it also do so along the dimension of impartial beneficence? To answer this question, we conducted three studies (total N = 970, two preregistered) using conceptual priming of intuition versus deliberation on moral judgments. Our evidence converges on an interaction effect, with intuition decreasing utilitarian judgments in IH—as suggested by previous work—but failing to do so in IB. These findings bolster the recently proposed two-dimensional model of utilitarian moral judgment, and point to new avenues for future research.

On the Privacy and Utility of Anonymized Social Networks

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Song ◽  
Xuesong Lu ◽  
Sadegh Nobari ◽  
Stéphane Bressan ◽  
Panagiotis Karras
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Private Lives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Do So

One is either on Facebook or not. Of course, this assessment is controversial and its rationale arguable. It is nevertheless not far, for many, from the reason behind joining social media and publishing and sharing details of their professional and private lives. Not only the personal details that may be revealed, but also the structure of the networks are sources of invaluable information for any organization wanting to understand and learn about social groups, their dynamics and members. These organizations may or may not be benevolent. It is important to devise, design and evaluate solutions that guarantee some privacy. One approach that reconciles the different stakeholders’ requirement is the publication of a modified graph. The perturbation is hoped to be sufficient to protect members’ privacy while it maintains sufficient utility for analysts wanting to study the social media as a whole. In this paper, the authors try to empirically quantify the inevitable trade-off between utility and privacy. They do so for two state-of-the-art graph anonymization algorithms that protect against most structural attacks, the k-automorphism algorithm and the k-degree anonymity algorithm. The authors measure several metrics for a series of real graphs from various social media before and after their anonymization under various settings.

Patient Preference for the Management of Trigger Digit

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-142
Author(s):  
Karen Joughin ◽  
Steven J McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Patient Preference ◽  
Steroid Injection ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Previous Experience ◽  
Cure Rate ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Probability Of Success ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Do So

K Joughin, SJ McCabe. Patient preference for the management of trigger digit. Can J Plast Surg 1993;1(3):141-142. Steroid injection and surgery are both accepted treatment options for trigger digit. The objective of this study was to determine which modality patients would prefer when given a choice of treatments, the strength of their preference and factors that may influence their preference. A probability trade-off technique was used in 151 subjects. On average, subjects selected injection over surgery and would do so with a probability of success by injection as low as 57%. If the probability of cure by injection was less than 57%, surgery would be the preferred method of treatment, on average. A bimodal distribution of patient preference showed that some patients may strongly prefer either surgery or injection, with many patients preferring surgery even with a high expected cure rate of the first injection. Age, gender and previous experience with injections or surgery did not correlate with preference. Patients with trigger digits should be presented with unbiased information about treatment and be allowed to take part in the selection of the type of treatment they receive.

scholarly journals Does a deposit insurance scheme induce moral hazard among bankers? Evidence from an experiment with bankers

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo ◽  
Bernardinus Maria Purwanto ◽  
Rimawan Pradiptyo
Keyword(s):  
Moral Hazard ◽  
Deposit Insurance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Credit Market ◽  
Bank Failures ◽  
Insurance Scheme ◽  
Deposit Rate ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Bank Run ◽  
Do So

The implementation of a deposit insurance scheme entails a trade off. On one hand, as shown in theoretical and empirical studies, a deposit insurance scheme reduces the likelihood of a bank run. On the other hand, a deposit insurance scheme induces moral hazard among bankers that may lead to bank failures. We rigorously test the effect of different deposit coverage limit and the implementation of a differential premium treatment on bankers’ behaviors in the deposit and credit market. We do so by designing a laboratory experiment that involves real bankers as participants. We find that the coverage limit treatments do not have any effect on deposit rate offer. Nevertheless, we find that a high deposit coverage limit induces smaller banks to have a higher share of risky projects. This is evidence of moral hazard particularly among small banks.

scholarly journals Group Size as a Trade Off Between Fertility and Predation Risk: Implications for Social Evolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.I.M. Dunbar ◽  
Padraig Mac Carron
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Female Fertility ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Lower Pair ◽  
Increase Group Size ◽  
Do So

AbstractCluster analysis reveals a fractal pattern in the sizes of baboon groups, with peaks at ∼20, ∼40, ∼80 and ∼160. Although all baboon species individually exhibit this pattern, the two largest are mainly characteristic of the hamadryas and gelada. We suggest that these constitute three pairs of linear oscillators (20/40, 40/80 and 80/160), where in each case the higher value is set by limits on female fertility and the lower by predation risk. The lower pair of oscillators form an ESS in woodland baboons, with choice of oscillator being determined by local predation risk. Female fertility rates would naturally prevent baboons from achieving the highest oscillator with any regularity; nonetheless, hamadryas and gelada have been able to break through this fertility ‘glass ceiling’ and we suggest that they have been able to do so by using substructuring (based partly on using males as ‘hired guns’). This seems to have allowed them to increase group size significantly so as to occupy higher predation risk habitats (thereby creating the upper oscillator).

Covid-19: A Trade-off between Political Economy and Ethics

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrique Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Policy Measure ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Ethical Trade ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Do So

Abstract This paper investigates the trade-off between economics and ethics applying them to “lockdowns” as a policy measure to counter the Covid-19-pandemic. This is an academic research on the nature and mechanism of trade-offs in so far as they apply to decision making. In the course of the line of inquiry pursued here, several different ways of trading off are assessed. In applying them to the pandemics, each yield a different answer to the adequacy of lockdowns as measures against the pandemic. The economic trade-off found “optimalcy” conditions, the utilitarian-ethical trade-off failed to do so revealing that there is a problem using “scientific evidence” as basis for such a trade-off. The value-ethical trade-off found out that lockdowns do not pass the test of proportionality within the usual constitutional framework.

scholarly journals A Trade-Off Model of Intentional Thinking for Pleasure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seher Raza ◽  
Erin Corwin Westgate ◽  
Nick Buttrick ◽  
Samantha Heintzelman ◽  
Remy Furrer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
External World ◽  
Idle Time ◽  
Planning Study ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Do So

We investigated intentional thinking for pleasure, defined as the deliberate attempt to have pleasant thoughts while disengaged from the external world. We propose a Trade-Off Model that explains when and why thinking for pleasure is enjoyable: people focus on personally meaningful thoughts when thinking for pleasure (especially when prompted to do so), which increases their enjoyment, but they find it difficult to concentrate on their thoughts, which decreases their enjoyment. Thus, the net enjoyment of thinking for pleasure is a trade-off between its benefits (personal meaningfulness) and costs (difficulty concentrating). To test the model, we compared intentional thinking for pleasure to four alternate activities in three studies. Thinking for pleasure was more enjoyable than undirected thinking (Study 1) and planning (Study 3), because it was more meaningful than these activities while requiring a similar level of concentration. Thinking for pleasure was just as enjoyable as playing a video game (Study 2) or unprompted idle time activities (Study 3), but for different reasons: It was more meaningful than these activities, but required more concentration. We discuss the implications of these findings for what people might choose to do during idle times.

scholarly journals Paper Stones Revisited: Class Voting, Unionization and the Electoral Decline of the Mainstream Left

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Rennwald ◽  
Jonas Pontusson
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Class Voting ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
Term Objective ◽  
Do So ◽  
Radical Left

Relying on post-election surveys, we analyze how class and union membership condition voters’ abandonment of mainstream Left parties and the alternatives chosen by former mainstream-Left voters in the period 2001–2015. Inspired by Przeworski and Sprague’s Paper Stones (1986), our analysis shows that Left parties face a trade-off between mobilizing workers and other voters and that unionization renders workers more loyal to Left parties that mobilize non-workers. By contrast, unionization does not render non-workers more loyal to Left parties that mobilize workers. Union membership increases the likelihood that workers who abandon the mainstream Left continue to vote. It also increases the likelihood that voters abandon the mainstream Left in favor of radical Left parties rather than Center-Right parties. Finally, we show that workers are more likely to abandon mainstream Left parties in favor of radical Right parties than non-workers and that union membership does not affect their propensity to do so. We conclude that reversing the decline of working-class organization should be a long-term objective of mainstream Left parties.

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