scholarly journals Moral Molecules: Morality as a combinatorial system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Scott Curry ◽  
Mark Alfano ◽  
Mark John Brandt ◽  
Christine Pelican

What is morality? How many moral values are there? And what are they? According to the theory of morality-as-cooperation, morality is a collection of biological and cultural solutions to the problems of cooperation recurrent in human social life. This theory predicts that there will be as many different types of morality as there are different types of cooperation. Previous research, drawing on evolutionary game theory, has identified at least seven different types of cooperation, and used them to explain seven different types of morality: family values, group loyalty, reciprocity, heroism, deference, fairness and property rights. Here we explore the conjecture that these simple moral ‘elements’ combine to form a much larger number of more complex moral ‘molecules’, and that as such morality is a combinatorial system. For each combination of two elements, we hypothesise a candidate moral molecule, and successfully locate an example of it in the professional and popular literature. These molecules include: fraternity, blood revenge, family pride, filial piety, gavelkind, primogeniture, friendship, patriotism, tribute, diplomacy, common ownership, honour, confession, turn taking, restitution, modesty, mercy, munificence, arbitration, mendicancy, and queuing. These findings indicate that morality – like many other physical, biological, psychological and cultural systems – is indeed a combinatorial system. Thus morality-as-cooperation provides a principled and powerful theory, that explains why there are many moral values, and successfully predicts what they will be; and it generates a systematic framework that has the potential to explain all moral ideas, possible and actual. Pursuing the many implications of this theory will help to place the study of morality on a more secure scientific footing.

Author(s):  
Oliver Scott Curry ◽  
Mark Alfano ◽  
Mark J. Brandt ◽  
Christine Pelican

AbstractWhat is morality? How many moral values are there? And what are they? According to the theory of morality-as-cooperation, morality is a collection of biological and cultural solutions to the problems of cooperation recurrent in human social life. This theory predicts that there will be as many different types of morality as there are different types of cooperation. Previous research, drawing on evolutionary game theory, has identified at least seven different types of cooperation, and used them to explain seven different types of morality: family values, group loyalty, reciprocity, heroism, deference, fairness and property rights. Here we explore the conjecture that these simple moral ‘elements’ combine to form a much larger number of more complex moral ‘molecules’, and that as such morality is a combinatorial system. For each combination of two elements, we hypothesise a candidate moral molecule, and successfully locate an example of it in the professional and popular literature. These molecules include: fraternity, blood revenge, family pride, filial piety, gavelkind, primogeniture, friendship, patriotism, tribute, diplomacy, common ownership, honour, confession, turn taking, restitution, modesty, mercy, munificence, arbitration, mendicancy, and queuing. These findings indicate that morality – like many other physical, biological, psychological and cultural systems – is indeed a combinatorial system. Thus morality-as-cooperation provides a principled and powerful theory, that explains why there are many moral values, and successfully predicts what they will be; and it generates a systematic framework that has the potential to explain all moral ideas, possible and actual. Pursuing the many implications of this theory will help to place the study of morality on a more secure scientific footing.


Author(s):  
Aji Sulistyo

Television advertisement is an effective medium that aims to market a product or service, because it combines audio and visuals. therefore television advertisement can effectively influence the audience to buy the product or service. Advertisement nowadays does not only convey promotional messages, but can also be a medium for delivering social messages. That is one form of the function of the media, which is to educate the public. The research entitled Representation of Morality in the Teh Botol Sosro Advertisement "Semeja Bersaudara" version analyzed the morality value in a television advertisement from ready-to-drink tea producers, Teh Botol Sosro entitled "Semeja Bersaudara" which began airing in early 2019. In this study researchers used Charles Sanders Peirce's Semiotics theory with triangular meaning analysis tools in the form of Signs, Objects and Interpretations. In addition, researchers also use representation theory from Stuart Hall in interpreting messages in advertisements. The results of this study found that the "Semeja Bersaudara" version of Teh Botol Sosro advertisement represented a message in the form of morality. There are nine values of morality that can be taken in this advertisement including, friendly attitude, sharing, empathy, help, not prejudice, no discrimination, harmony, tolerance between religious communities and cross-cultural tolerance. The message conveyed in this advertisement is how the general public can understand how every human action in social life has moral values, so that the public can understand and apply moral values in order to live a better life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 450-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Vincenzi ◽  
Flavia Anna Mercurio ◽  
Marilisa Leone

Background: The sterile alpha motif (Sam) domain is a small helical protein module, able to undergo homo- and hetero-oligomerization, as well as polymerization, thus forming different types of protein architectures. A few Sam domains are involved in pathological processes and consequently, they represent valuable targets for the development of new potential therapeutic routes. This study intends to collect state-of-the-art knowledge on the different modes by which Sam domains can favor disease onset and progression. Methods: This review was build up by searching throughout the literature, for: a) the structural properties of Sam domains, b) interactions mediated by a Sam module, c) presence of a Sam domain in proteins relevant for a specific disease. Results: Sam domains appear crucial in many diseases including cancer, renal disorders, cataracts. Often pathologies are linked to mutations directly positioned in the Sam domains that alter their stability and/or affect interactions that are crucial for proper protein functions. In only a few diseases, the Sam motif plays a kind of "side role" and cooperates to the pathological event by enhancing the action of a different protein domain. Conclusion: Considering the many roles of the Sam domain into a significant variety of diseases, more efforts and novel drug discovery campaigns need to be engaged to find out small molecules and/or peptides targeting Sam domains. Such compounds may represent the pillars on which to build novel therapeutic strategies to cure different pathologies.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 682
Author(s):  
Andreea Crintea ◽  
Alina Gabriela Dutu ◽  
Gabriel Samasca ◽  
Ioan Alexandru Florian ◽  
Iulia Lupan ◽  
...  

Even though there are various types of cancer, this pathology as a whole is considered the principal cause of death worldwide. Lung cancer is known as a heterogeneous condition, and it is apparent that genome modification presents a significant role in the occurrence of this disorder. There are conventional procedures that can be utilized against diverse cancer types, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but they are hampered by the numerous side effects. Owing to the many adverse events observed in these therapies, it is imperative to continuously develop new and improved strategies for managing individuals with cancer. Nanomedicine plays an important role in establishing new methods for detecting chromosomal rearrangements and mutations for targeted chemotherapeutics or the local delivery of drugs via different types of nano-particle carriers to the lungs or other organs or areas of interest. Because of the complex signaling pathways involved in developing different types of cancer, the need to discover new methods for prevention and detection is crucial in producing gene delivery materials that exhibit the desired roles. Scientists have confirmed that nanotechnology-based procedures are more effective than conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy, with minor side effects. Several nanoparticles, nanomaterials, and nanosystems have been studied, including liposomes, dendrimers, polymers, micelles, inorganic nanoparticles, such as gold nanoparticles or carbon nanotubes, and even siRNA delivery systems. The cytotoxicity of such nanosystems is a debatable concern, and nanotechnology-based delivery systems must be improved to increase the bioavailability, biocompatibility, and safety profiles, since these nanosystems boast a remarkable potential in many biomedical applications, including anti-tumor activity or gene therapy. In this review, the nanosystems involved in treating lung cancer and its associated challenges are discussed.


1923 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-215
Author(s):  
Raymond G. Gettell

In the introduction to his readings in political philosophy, Professor Coker says, “since the time of Plato there has been, in every philosophic age, some inquiry as to the justification of political organization in general, as to the relative merits of different political forms, and as to the appropriate position and privileges of the individual as master, member, or subject of the political order of society. Why do we have political organization? What in our present condition do we owe to it? What future benefits may we properly expect to derive from it? Are its purposes characteristically manifold and changing, or are they ultimately reducible to a few limited objects or to some single end? What is its best form? Who should control it? What is its proper relation to the ideas and sentiments of the community at its basis? What spheres of individual and social life is it incompetent to enter? Philosophers and publicists of various types have sought to answer these questions in abstract terms.”If an analysis be made of the questions with which political thought has been concerned, it is found that emphasis was placed at various periods upon widely different types of problems. In the medieval period political controversy centered in the contest for supremacy between spiritual and temporal authorities; in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the dominant interest was in the contest between monarchic and democratic theories of political organization; at present, the extent of state activities has come into prominence, and the connection between political and economic interests is especially close. Besides, political conditions have changed so greatly from age to age that the same problem had quite different meanings at different periods.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2021/1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Imre Hamar

Filial piety is one of the cardinal moral values in Confucianism, and has become a keystone in the Chinese social value system, describing and prescribing the proper functioning of human communities at micro (family) and macro (state) levels. The introduction of Buddhism, which advocates that only those who live in celibacy pursuing the career of a monk can easily have access to the highest truth, challenged the uniformly accepted moral obligations of Confucianism, and initiated a dialogue, sometimes a debate, with the Chinese literati on the differences and similarities of Buddhist and Confucianist ethics. This article offers an insight on how Chinese adepts of Buddhism made efforts to prove not only that filial piety is a requirement for all practitioners of Buddhism as a kind of concession in a social environment where filial piety is a representation of virtuous human existence, but also, by forging Indian scriptures on filial piety and visualisation and commenting on Indian scriptures, that this lies at the centre of Buddhist practice.


Lire Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Lilis Sholihah

This research is intended to analyze the meanings of semantic and moral values found in songs lyrics in the album by Coldplay. The result of this research is expected to be valuable research in enlarging the knowledge of semantics field especially in analysis of song. In this case the meanings and moral values found in the Coldplay’s Album songs lyrics. In this case, the researcher collects the data in following steps. Firstly, collecting the script of song lyrics taken from the internet. Secondly, assembling data from the sources. Thirdly, reading all the data sources. Lastly, classifying the lyric based on the lexical meaning and moral values and classified them according to the research focus. After analyzing the data, the lexical terms found in this song contains 6 denotations, 5 connotations, 1 ambiguity, 10 antonyms and 11 synonyms. Furthermore, there are many kinds of figurative languages found in some lyrics of the song such as simile, hyperbole, personification, symbol, metaphor, apostrophe, synecdoche, paradox and antithesis, etc. Specifically, the figurative language which found in lyrics a head full of dreams album , there are 1 metaphor, 2 similes, 2 symbol, 2 hyperboles and 1 irony. Then, the five song lyrics in a head full of dreams album by Coldplay tell us about human social life which contained about love, sadness, happiness, spirit and adventure of life.


Author(s):  
Farra Humairah Mohd ◽  
Nordiana Hamzah ◽  
Hasrina Baharum

The Malay mind is explicitly and implicitly expressed in the works of Malay literature. The thinking in the lyrics of folk songs, in particular, those of “Bangau Oh Bangau” and “Burung Kenek-Kenek”, give emphasis to social and moral values as well as the role of custom in community lives. These songs draw attention to the Malay philosophy that is related to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and aesthetic through their interaction with nature as well as the surrounding plant and animal kingdoms. This study aims to identify the philosophy, language and thinking in the lyrics of “Bangau Oh Bangau” and “Burung Kenek-Kenek” by employing the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The quantitative method employed in the present study is the text analysis method. The study has identified four Malay philosophy and thinking in “Bangau Oh Bangau”: sarcasm with regard to the culture of shifting the blame, sarcasm concerning the indifferent attitude of the society, sincerity in action or planning, and philosophy or principle of life. The philosophy and thinking in the lyrics for “Burung Kenek-kenek” encourage one to strive for piousness, filial piety and noble character (humility). The study has also shown the link between philosophy, language, and thoughts in the lyrics of Malay songs, in particular, “Bangau Oh Bangau” and “Burung Kenek-Kenek”, as stated in the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. In summary, analysis of the lyrics of “Bangau Oh Bangau” and “Burung Kenek-Kenek” has brought into the open the superiority of Malay thinking and creativity in composing the lyrics of Malay songs that are inspired by nature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 912 (1) ◽  
pp. 012060
Author(s):  
Yunasfi ◽  
R Leidonald ◽  
A Dalimunthe ◽  
A S Siregar

Abstract Rhizopohora stylosa, Rhizopohora mucronata, Rhizopohora apiculata, and Bruguiera gymnorhyza are among the rare types of mangrove found in coastal areas. The presence of these mangrove species in the coastal environment could be a boon to the environment. R. stylosa is one of the many species, and it can be used as a plant that collects heavy metals present in coastal areas. As a result of out-of-collection metals from various mechanical exercises that exist surrounding waterways and estuaries. From May to August 2021, researchers studied the capacity of R. stylosa to withstand the heavy metals copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) and their impact on water quality. This investigation took place at the Belawan Stream Estuary in Baristan Medan, as well as the Office of Timberland Development’s research center at the College of North Sumatra. Different types of mengrove plants found in coastal areas have unique strategies for dealing with contaminaton caused by heavy metals. Constructing various types of overpowering netal at various portions of the tree is one of the few methodologies used by mangroves. R. stylosa is a type of mangrove that may collect a lot of metal in its roots and stem before clearing it out. Overwhelming metals will degrade water quality, which will, in turn, degrade the condition of the biological system as a whole. The overpowering metal substance of Cu and Pb in the R. stylosa mangrove was found to be higher than that of Pb. The Cu component was found to be more notable than Pb in the water contained within the developing put of R. stylosa. Meanwhile, the mud material in which the R. stylosa mangrove grows creates an abundance of metal substance that is less than that of Pb.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (32) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Thomas Lykke Andersen ◽  
Peter Frigaard ◽  
Michael R Rasmussen ◽  
Luca Martinelli

The present paper deals with loads on wind turbine access platforms. The many planned new wind turbine parks together with the observed damages on platforms in several existing parks make the topic very important. The paper gives an overview of recently developed design formulae for different types of entrance platforms. Moreover, the paper present new results on loads on grates based on both drag coefficient measurements and preliminary results on slamming from large scale tests. As expected both investigations show that platforms with grates give a significant reduction in the loads compared to closed plate platforms. The grate multiplication factor, defined as the peak load on the grate platform relative to the peak load on a closed plate platform was found approximately equal to the solidity of the grate.


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