Faculty Opinions recommendation of Beyond moral dilemmas: The role of reasoning in five categories of utilitarian judgment.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Conway ◽  
Nick Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Moral Dilemmas

Problematic Political Consumerism

2018 ◽  
pp. 698-720
Author(s):  
Michele Micheletti ◽  
Didem Oral
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Ideal Type ◽  
Type Model ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Research Challenges ◽  
Moral Claims

Typically, political consumerism is portrayed in straightforward, unproblematic ways. This chapter discusses how and why political consumerism—and particularly boycotts—can be confusing and problematic. Theoretically it focuses on moral dilemmas within political consumerism and the key role of overriding moral claims in the motivations for and actions of political consumer causes. An ideal type model, constructed for analyzing unproblematic and problematic political consumerism, is applied to cases of more unproblematic political consumerism (e.g., the Nestlé, Nike, and South African boycotts) and more problematic political consumerism (e.g., the Disney boycott and the movement against Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestine territories). The chapter also addresses why other forms of political consumerism (buycotts and discursive actions) seem less vulnerable to moral dilemmas as well as the research challenges in studying more problematic cases of political consumerism.

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.

The New Backyard

2011 ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
Nathan G. Freier ◽  
Emilie T. Saulnier
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Problem ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pro Social Behavior

This chapter discusses the significant role that virtual worlds, particularly massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), such as Club Penguin and World of Warcraft, play in the social and moral development of children and adolescents. A central argument of the chapter is that MMOGs and other virtual worlds provide a new backyard within which children and adolescents engage in active social interaction and play out moral dilemmas. It discusses three important areas of development in the context of interactions in MMOGs. First, it explores the process of perspective-taking, which is an important factor in empathy and pro-social behavior. Second, it explores the impact that MMOGs might have on stereotyping behavior and the phenomenon of stereotype threat, a harmful outcome of stereotyping behavior. Finally, it considers the role of moral dilemmas in development and how MMOGs provide unique environments for social and moral problem solving.

2. Natural law and morality

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-73
Author(s):  
Raymond Wacks
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Natural Law ◽  
Moral Realism ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
Law And Morality ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the relationship between the ancient classical theory of natural law and its application to contemporary moral questions. It considers the role of natural law in political philosophy, the decline of the theory of natural law, and its revival in the twentieth century. The principal focus is on John Finnis’s natural law theory based largely on the works of St Thomas Aquinas. The chapter posits a distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ natural law, examines the notion of moral realism, and examines the tension between law and morality; and the subject of the moral dilemmas facing judges in unjust societies.

Age, Education, and Sex Effects on Adult Moral Reasoning

1988 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles B. White
Keyword(s):  
Moral Development ◽  
Moral Reasoning ◽  
Scoring System ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Stage Theory ◽  
Sex Effects ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Effect Of Age

The role of age and education in adult moral reasoning was examined utilizing Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental stage theory of moral development and the most recent Standard Scoring System for assessing moral judgments. Individual interviews utilizing standard Kohlberg moral dilemmas were conducted with 195 adults ranging in age from nineteen to eighty-two years and in years of education from three to twenty-five years. Results indicated no overall significant effect for age of reasoner, no significant effect for sex, and a significant effect for education ( p < .01). However, the effect of age was significant in the group with eighteen or more years of education, but not in the group with less than eighteen years of education.

Balancing in the role of a professional family assistant – from a distanced concern to an institutional trap

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Szpunar
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Professional Role ◽  
Family Assistance ◽  
Social Pedagogy

The article unveils the complexity of the professional role of a family assistant as well as areas close to other social professions. In addition, it shows the character of social work, which has its roots in the assumptions of social pedagogy of the 60s of the 20th century, as well as, in a similar scope, in the current expectations for social workers. The statutory requirements of family assistance, practiced and desirable work styles of assistants in Poland are described. The article presents the situations and activities of an assistant when working with families. Emphasis is placed on the multidimensionality of assistants’ work. A family assistant, like a social worker or social educator, balances his/her professional role from an empathic attitude through a distanced care to the institutional trap. These dilemmas and paradoxes together with their types and areas are described. Moreover, the article shows examples of moral dilemmas and paradoxes of family assistants’ professional actions.

A Nonconformist Account of the Asch Experiments: Values, Pragmatics, and Moral Dilemmas

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert H. Hodges ◽  
Anne L. Geyer
Keyword(s):  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Social Solidarity ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Proper Role ◽  
Group Survival ◽  
Social Psychological Research

This article offers a new approach to Asch's (1956) influential studies relating physical and social perception. Drawing on research on values, conversational pragmatics, cross-cultural comparisons, and negotiation, the authors challenge the normative assumptions that have led psychologists to interpret the studies in terms of conformity. A values-pragmatics account is offered that suggests that participants attempt to realize multiple values (e.g., truth, social solidarity) in an inherently frustrating situation by tacitly varying patterns of dissent and agreement to communicate larger scale truths and cooperative intentions. Alternative theories (e.g., embarrassment, attribution) are compared and empirical implications of the values-pragmatics account are evaluated. The possibility of multiple strategies promoting group survival and the proper role of moral evaluation in social psychological research are considered.

scholarly journals Individual and Environmental Correlates of Adolescents’ Moral Decision-Making in Moral Dilemmas

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Bacchini ◽  
Grazia De Angelis ◽  
Mirella Dragone ◽  
Concetta Esposito ◽  
Gaetana Affuso
Keyword(s):  
Community Violence ◽  
Moral Disengagement ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Community Violence Exposure ◽  
Parental Rejection ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Callous Unemotional ◽  
Callous Unemotional Traits ◽  
Moral Decisions

While extensive research has been conducted on adults’ judgments in moral sacrificial dilemmas, there is little research on adolescents. The present study aimed at: (1) adding further empirical evidence about adolescents’ moral decisions (deontological vs. utilitarian) in sacrificial moral dilemmas and (2) investigating how these moral decisions relate with gender, school grade, emotional traits (callous-unemotional traits), context-related experiences (perceived parental rejection and community violence exposure), and moral-related factors (moral disengagement and universalism value). A sample of 755 Italian adolescents (54.7% females; Mean age=16.45, SD=1.61) attending the second and the fifth year of secondary school took part in the study. Two sacrificial trolley-type dilemmas (where harmful actions promote the greater good) were presented. In the “switch” scenario (impersonal sacrificial dilemma), the choice is whether to hit a switch to save five people killing only one person. In the “footbridge” scenario (personal sacrificial dilemma), the choice is whether to push a large man off a footbridge saving five persons. For each scenario, participants had to indicate whether the proposed action was “morally acceptable” or not. Data were analyzed performing generalized linear mixed models. Our results showed that: (1) Adolescents were more likely to indicate as admissible to hit the switch rather than to push the large man; (2) male adolescents, compared to females, were more likely to say it was morally acceptable to intervene in the footbridge dilemma, whereas younger adolescents said it was morally acceptable both in the switch and the footbridge situations; and (3) higher levels of callous-unemotional traits, perceived parental rejection, and moral disengagement, on the one hand, and lower levels of universalism, on the other hand, were associated to higher admissibility to intervene in the footbridge scenario. Higher community violence exposure was associated with a lower propensity to intervene in the switch scenario. Overall, the present study expands the research on sacrificial dilemmas involving a sample of adolescents. The findings support previous studies concerning the role of emotions in making moral decisions but, at the same, open new perspectives regarding the role of contextual experiences and moral-related factors.

Examples in ethics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Louden
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Moral Education ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Moral Experience ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
Actual Case ◽  
Philosophical Questions

Philosophers often employ examples to illustrate how their favoured principles are to be applied to concrete cases, and sometimes even to show that principles are of no help in decision-making. Examples are also used to convince readers of the existence of moral dilemmas – unresolvable conflicts between moral obligations. But a variety of different philosophical questions concerning the role, status, and nature of examples used in ethics have also been raised. One such question concerns the role that examples should play in our moral experience: should this be a rhetorical, pedagogic role of persuading us to do what is right, as determined by pre-existing principle; or a stronger, logical role of helping to determine what is morally right? Another query relates to moral teaching: is exposure to and reflection on stories, tales, narratives and exemplars sufficient for moral education, or is there a further need for exposure to principles and theories of ethics? Third, in terms of the kinds of examples employed in moral philosophy and reflection, should such examples be culled from great literature or sacred texts? Alternatively, should they be actual case studies drawn from real life, or hypothetical but realistic examples constructed by theorists? Or should they be imaginary, highly improbable cases designed to test our intuitions? A fourth question asks how examples are best identified and described, and to what extent the examples used in ethics are themselves theory-laden or even theory-constituted.

Thou Shalt not Kill, Unless it is not a Human: Target Dehumanization May Influence Decision Difficulty and Response Patterns for Moral Dilemmas

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 657-686
Author(s):  
Hui Bai ◽  
Hyun Euh ◽  
Christopher M. Federico ◽  
Eugene Borgida
Keyword(s):  
Past Research ◽  
Moral Dilemmas ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Situational Variables ◽  
Decision Choices ◽  
Decision Difficulty

Past research on moral dilemmas has thoroughly investigated the roles of personality and situational variables, but the role of targets in moral dilemmas has been relatively neglected. This article presents findings from four experiments that manipulated the perceived dehumanization of targets in moral dilemmas. Findings from Studies 1, 2, and 4 suggest that dehumanized targets may render the decision easier, and with less emotion. Findings from Studies 1 and 3, though not Studies 2 and 4, showed that dehumanization of targets in dilemmas may lead participants to make less deontological judgments. Findings from Study 3, but not Study 4, suggest that the effects of dehumanization manipulation on decision choices are potentially due to reduced deontological, but not utilitarian judgments. Though the patterns are somewhat inconsistent across the studies, overall, results suggest that targets' dehumanization can play a role in how people make their decisions in moral dilemmas.

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