scholarly journals Is The Aeneid Relevant to Modern Leadership?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mark J. Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Good Judgment ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Leadership Lessons

<p>This thesis explores the Aeneid, Virgil's foundation epic of the Latin canon, from a values-based leadership perspective, which is defined as the moral foundation underlying stewardship decisions and actions of leaders. The Aeneid was originally written to enhance the political legitimacy of the Augustan principate, deliver a cohesive national identity, and extol traditional Roman virtues—all of which were deemed critical to the peace, prosperity and effectiveness of the Roman imperium. Further, this study reviews the epic in its historical context, codes the themes of its key leadership lessons, and employs a mixed-method research framework to juxtapose the leadership lessons identified to the demands of modern leadership. Specifically, the Aeneid is analyzed to juxtapose the resonant leadership elements of vision, culture and values—and their corresponding equivalent Roman themes of fatum, pietas, and virtus. Whether viewed qualitatively or quantitatively—in the first century BCE Rome of Virgil or across modern sectors (i.e., for profit, non profit, government)—results from this study suggests that rather than bowing to the illusion that current events (e.g., globalization, communication, computing) are beyond ancient insights, this study affirms the unequivocal relevance of the Aeneid to the demands of modern leadership. First, a compelling vision, larger than any individual, is found to be necessary for organizational success and sustainability in the Aeneid, contemporary Rome, and modern organisations. Second, nurturing the culture or prevailing attitudes, beliefs and preferences through multiple approaches, including symbols and rituals, is affirmed to be a critical aspect of organisational leadership which is shared by ancient and modern leaders alike. Third, the Aeneid was coded into the following eight values (or virtus) in order of importance: integrity, good judgment, leadership by example, decision-making, trust, justice/fairness, humility, and sense of urgency. Of note, integrity was by found to be the most superordinate, essential and resonant value by far—without this the other values are severely lessened in worth. Far beyond transmitting a worn standard diatribe of stoic Greco-Roman values, the Aeneid timelessly illustrates the tensions and tradeoffs facing leaders amidst changing circumstances, challenges, and resource constraints. Far beyond being wooden and moralistic, Virgil adjures leaders to reflectively struggle with inner conflict and growth as they decide on what changes to seek and to what moral foundations must be steadfastly adhered. Far from simply promulgating a celebratory, self-aggrandizement of the Augustan regime, the Aenied echoes an arching vision of the Roman imperium which is universally rooted in the rule of law and climbs to the highest aspiration of mankind’s advancement. In sum, while the Aeneid extols prototypical values, the epic instructs that truly effective leadership is not about being a monochromatic prototype. Rather, the epic reveals that the essence and privilege of effective leadership demands reflection on the dynamic relationship between the leader and the led towards a better, envisioned future.</p>

scholarly journals Is The Aeneid Relevant to Modern Leadership?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mark J. Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Effective Leadership ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Good Judgment ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Leadership Lessons

<p>This thesis explores the Aeneid, Virgil's foundation epic of the Latin canon, from a values-based leadership perspective, which is defined as the moral foundation underlying stewardship decisions and actions of leaders. The Aeneid was originally written to enhance the political legitimacy of the Augustan principate, deliver a cohesive national identity, and extol traditional Roman virtues—all of which were deemed critical to the peace, prosperity and effectiveness of the Roman imperium. Further, this study reviews the epic in its historical context, codes the themes of its key leadership lessons, and employs a mixed-method research framework to juxtapose the leadership lessons identified to the demands of modern leadership. Specifically, the Aeneid is analyzed to juxtapose the resonant leadership elements of vision, culture and values—and their corresponding equivalent Roman themes of fatum, pietas, and virtus. Whether viewed qualitatively or quantitatively—in the first century BCE Rome of Virgil or across modern sectors (i.e., for profit, non profit, government)—results from this study suggests that rather than bowing to the illusion that current events (e.g., globalization, communication, computing) are beyond ancient insights, this study affirms the unequivocal relevance of the Aeneid to the demands of modern leadership. First, a compelling vision, larger than any individual, is found to be necessary for organizational success and sustainability in the Aeneid, contemporary Rome, and modern organisations. Second, nurturing the culture or prevailing attitudes, beliefs and preferences through multiple approaches, including symbols and rituals, is affirmed to be a critical aspect of organisational leadership which is shared by ancient and modern leaders alike. Third, the Aeneid was coded into the following eight values (or virtus) in order of importance: integrity, good judgment, leadership by example, decision-making, trust, justice/fairness, humility, and sense of urgency. Of note, integrity was by found to be the most superordinate, essential and resonant value by far—without this the other values are severely lessened in worth. Far beyond transmitting a worn standard diatribe of stoic Greco-Roman values, the Aeneid timelessly illustrates the tensions and tradeoffs facing leaders amidst changing circumstances, challenges, and resource constraints. Far beyond being wooden and moralistic, Virgil adjures leaders to reflectively struggle with inner conflict and growth as they decide on what changes to seek and to what moral foundations must be steadfastly adhered. Far from simply promulgating a celebratory, self-aggrandizement of the Augustan regime, the Aenied echoes an arching vision of the Roman imperium which is universally rooted in the rule of law and climbs to the highest aspiration of mankind’s advancement. In sum, while the Aeneid extols prototypical values, the epic instructs that truly effective leadership is not about being a monochromatic prototype. Rather, the epic reveals that the essence and privilege of effective leadership demands reflection on the dynamic relationship between the leader and the led towards a better, envisioned future.</p>

Are leadership values different across generations?

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 977-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Ahn ◽  
Larry W. Ettner
Keyword(s):  
Generation X ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Organizational Sustainability ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Good Judgment ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Mba Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mba Students ◽  
Leadership Values

Purpose – The popular use of labels such as Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Millennials suggests that the nature of effective leadership changes over time in response to the prevailing modern context. Using a values-based leadership lens, defined as the moral foundation underlying stewardship decisions and actions of leaders, the purpose of this paper is to explore the alternative notion that fundamental leadership ideals – from antiquity to modern executives to MBA students – are timeless in nature. Design/methodology/approach – Using a thematic analysis approach, The Aeneid was coded for key leadership themes (integrity, good judgment, leadership by example, decision-making, trust, justice/fairness, humility, and sense of urgency); and a mixed-method research framework was employed to juxtapose the leadership lessons identified to the demands of modern leadership. Deductive thematic analysis was utilized to examine key themes from responses of 13 multi-sectoral leaders (for profit, non-profit, government) and 137 MBA students (from three MBA programs in differing regions). Findings – Whether viewed qualitatively or quantitatively, or across sectors, the findings of this study affirm the explicit relevance of The Aeneid to the demands of modern leadership. Additionally, it was found that the way managers ranked leadership values was not significantly different from how MBA students ranked the same values. Moreover, the authors found integrity to be a superordinate value – without which the remaining values have far less significance. Originality/value – This research highlights a leadership paradox – while managerial traits are an important consideration for the prevailing operational context in the short term, a values-based approach to hiring, promoting and retaining leaders may be superior in achieving organizational sustainability and performance. This study illustrates the practical contemporary relevance of The Aeneid specifically, and illustrates a humanities laden and values-based approach to reflecting on leadership effectiveness generally.

Political orientation and moral foundations

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 365-371
Author(s):  
J Dorasamy ◽  
Mr Jirushlan Dorasamy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
North America ◽  
American Studies ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Open Approach ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
The North

Studies, especially in the North America, have shown a relationship between political orientation and moralfoundation. This study investigated whether moral judgements differ from the political orientation of participantsin South Africa moral judgment and the extent to which moral foundations are influenced by politicalorientation.Further, the study investigated the possibility of similar patterns with the North AmericanConservative-Liberal spectrum and the moral foundation. There were 300participants, 78 males and 222 females,who completed an online questionnaire relating to moral foundation and political orientation. The results partiallysupported the hypothesis relating to Liberal and Conservative orientation in South Africa. Further, this studypartially predicted the Liberal-Conservative orientation with patterns in the moral foundation, whilst showingsimilar findings to the North American studies. A growing rate of a neutral/moderate society is evidenced in SouthAfrica and abroad, thereby showing the emergence of a more open approach to both a political and generalstance.”””

scholarly journals The Effects of Politician’s Moral Violations on Voters' Moral Emotions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemarie S. Walter ◽  
David P. Redlawsk
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Moral Emotions ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Party Identity ◽  
Moral Transgressions ◽  
Partisan Identification

AbstractExisting empirical research on voters’ responses to individual politicians’ moral transgressions pays limited attention to moral emotions, although moral emotions are an integral part of voters’ moral judgment. This study looks at U.S. voters’ discrete moral emotional responses to politician’s moral violations and examines how these discrete moral emotional responses are dependent on voters’ own moral principles and the extent to which they identify with a political party. We report on a 5 × 3 between-subjects experiment where 2026 U.S. respondents reacted to politicians’ violations of one of five moral foundations defined by Moral Foundations Theory. We randomly vary which moral foundation is violated and the partisanship of the politician. While voters’ own moral principles somewhat condition moral emotional responses, we find that voters’ moral emotional responses mostly depend on partisan identification. When voters share party identity with a politician committing a moral violation, they respond with less anger, contempt, disgust and shame than when they do not share party identity. The effect is greater among strong partisans. However, we find limited evidence that specific moral emotions are activated by violations of particular moral foundations, thereby challenging Moral Foundations Theory.

Anthropology of Language Contact and its Sociocultural Contexts

Anthropology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miki Makihara ◽  
Juan L. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Language Endangerment ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Nation States

Language contact is not just about language. It extends to a whole complex set of sociocultural and historical formations that characterize life in intersecting communities of language users. It is a space of linguistic as well as sociocultural reproduction and transformation. Early anthropologists and linguists focused narrowly on how languages, understood here as structural codes, influence each other, producing lexical, phonological, and morphosyntactic changes. The discipline of linguistics has largely continued this line of inquiry and focused on issues of variation and structural change. In conducting empirical ethnographic studies, sociolinguists and linguistic anthropologists have exposed the constructedness of the static, bounded notions of “languages” and “communities” of monolingual speakers. They have also increasingly emphasized the embeddedness of language in its sociocultural and historical context (see Foundational Texts). Anthropology of language contact, accordingly, investigates changing practices of language use, unequal acquisition, socialization, and development of linguistic norms. This article highlights the dynamic relationship between the use and conceptualization of language. It includes works on multilingual and dialectal practices (see Multilingual Practices and Discursive Construction of Identity), and how linguistic differences function, produce, and perpetuate forms of social inequality (see Linguistic Differences and Social Inequality). It also addresses the historical, sociocultural, and interactional contexts of encounters and power dynamics. As such, we examine the context of colonialism and missionization (see Language and Colonialism) and the rise of nation-states in which standard language has been taken to be coterminous with the polity (see Language Contact and Nation-Building). Nationalism based on an association between nation and language is important in understanding the processes of language endangerment and revitalization (see Language Endangerment, Documentation, and Revitalization). This article also covers the flow of people and commodities, as well as industrialization, urbanization, and the introduction of new technologies (see Language Contact, Migration, and Globalization). Such flows and movements occur at different scales, from face-to-face interaction to global trade, and transform boundaries between languages (or what counts as such) and the communities that use them. Notwithstanding the fluidity of global communication, the school has been the most important site of the reproduction of standard and monolingual ideologies, closely connected to the process of nation-building, colonization, and the reproduction of privilege and inequality (see Education and Social (Re)production). The final section gathers works that highlight the poetic function of language and individual creative choice in multilingual verbal arts (see Verbal Play and Aesthetics of Contact).

scholarly journals Political Legitimacy as an Existential Predicament

2021 ◽  
pp. 009059172110478
Author(s):  
Thomas Fossen
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Good Judgment ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Practical Point ◽  
The Face

This essay contributes to developing a new approach to political legitimacy by asking what is involved in judging the legitimacy of a regime from a practical point of view. It is focused on one aspect of this question: the role of identity in such judgment. I examine three ways of understanding the significance of identity for political legitimacy: the foundational, associative, and agonistic picture. Neither view, I claim, persuasively captures the dilemmas of judgment in the face of disagreement and uncertainty about who “I” am and who “we” are. I then propose a composite, pragmatic picture. This view casts the question of political legitimacy as an existential predicament: it is fundamentally a question about who you are—both as a person and as a member of collectives. The pragmatic picture integrates rational, prudential, and ethical qualities of good judgment that were heretofore associated with mutually exclusive ways of theorizing legitimacy. It also implies that the question of legitimacy cannot be resolved philosophically.

scholarly journals Appraisal of the Fairness Moral Foundation Predicts the Language Use Involving Moral Issues on Twitter Among Japanese

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Matsuo ◽  
Baofa Du ◽  
Kazutoshi Sasahara
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Japanese Version ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Concern ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
The Relationship

Moral appraisals are found to be associated with a person’s individual differences (e.g., political ideology), and the effects of individual differences on language use have been studied within the framework of the Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). However, the relationship between one’s moral concern and the use of language involving morality on social media is not self-evident. The present exploratory study investigated that relationship using the MFT. Participants’ tweets and self-reported responses to the questionnaire were collected to measure the degree of their appraisals according to the five foundations of the MFT. The Japanese version of the Moral Foundations Dictionary (J-MFD) was used to quantify the number of words in tweets relevant to the MFT’s five moral foundations. The results showed that endorsement of the Fairness and Authority foundations predicted the word frequency in the J-MFD across all five foundations. The findings suggest that the trade-off relationship between the Fairness and Authority foundations plays a key role in online language communication. The implications and future directions to scrutinize that foundation are discussed.

scholarly journals Moral Basis for Ethnic Tolerance

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-340
Author(s):  
Irina N Protasova ◽  
Oleg A Sychev
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Tolerance Index ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Social Tolerance ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
The Social

The article deals with the relation between ethnic tolerance and the moral sphere features on the basis of Moral Foundations Theory by J. Haidt. As a result of theoretical analysis we put forward a hypothesis that ethnic tolerance is entirely compatible with individualizing moral foundations (caring/not doing harm and fairness) but contradicts the binding moral foundations (loyalty, authority, sanctity). To test this hypothesis the research was carried out on a sample of 340 university students. The participants completed a questionnaire packet containing the “Tolerance index” questionnaire by G.U. Soldatova et al. and the “Moral foundations questionnaire” by J. Graham et al. The correlations between variables showed that ethnic tolerance was positively correlated with moral foundations ‘Care’ and ‘Fairness’ and negatively correlated with moral foundation ‘Authority’. Using path analysis we showed that ethnic tolerance is positively correlated with individualizing moral foundations and negatively correlated with binding moral foundations under the control of tolerance as a trait, gender and age. Our results also revealed unsatisfactory reliability of the “Social tolerance” scale of the “Tolerance index” questionnaire indicating the need for further investigation of the psychometric properties of this questionnaire. Our results support the hypothesis that ethnic tolerance is compatible with individualizing moral foundations, but contradicts the binding moral foundations. This fact demonstrates the moral inconsistencies of ethnic tolerance in the context of the individualizing and binding moral foundations.

Cultural Models of Substance Misuse Risk and Moral Foundations: Cognitive Resources Underlying Stigma Attribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 78-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Lynn Henderson ◽  
William W. Dressler
Keyword(s):  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Cultural Models ◽  
Specific Model ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Cultural Model ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Medical Risk ◽  
Moral Failure

AbstractThis study examines the cognitive resources underlying the attribution of stigma in substance use and misuse. A cultural model of substance misuse risk was elicited from students at a major U.S. state university. We found a contested cultural model, with some respondents adopting a model of medical risk while others adopted a model of moral failure; agreeing that moral failure primarily defined risk led to greater attribution of stigma. Here we incorporate general beliefs about moral decision-making, assessed through Moral Foundations Theory. Specifically, we examined commitment to each moral foundation in relation to stigma attribution while controlling for the specific model of substance misuse risk. We found an interaction between the purity moral foundation and the cultural model of risk. This suggests that broad moral orientations, along with more specific understandings of substance misuse risk, combine to orient an individual with respect to stigma attribution.

Rational Versus Intuitive Processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Krcmar ◽  
Allison Eden
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Automatic System ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Moral Foundation ◽  
Rational System ◽  
System 2 ◽  
System 1

Abstract. This study explored two main theoretical propositions. First, we tested Hartmann’s (2011 , 2012 ) notion that video games are processed via two separate cognitive systems: System 1, the automatic system, and System 2, the rational system. Specifically, we used a cognitive load manipulation to test if intuitive moral responses such as guilt and anthropomorphism are processed in System 1. Second, we utilized moral foundations theory to test the effect of care salience on guilt and in-game aggression. Using an experimental design ( n = 94), the results indicate that under conditions of cognitive load, players had somewhat lower in-game aggression. Effects on guilt and anthropomorphism were in the same direction, albeit with small effects. In terms of moral foundations, we found that care salience was not negatively related to in-game aggression but was directly related to guilt, indicating that greater emphasis on the moral foundation of care resulted in greater guilt. Also, anthropomorphism was positively related to experienced guilt and negatively related to in-game aggression.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document