Intuitive Learning in Moral Awareness. Cognitive-Affective Processes in Mencius’ Innatist Theory

Mencius, referred to as second sage in Chinese philosophy history, grounds his theory about original goodness of human nature on psychological components by bringing in something new down ancient ages. Including the principles of virtuous action associated with Confucius to his doctrine, but by composing them along psychosocial development, he theorizes utterly out of the ordinary that makes all the difference to the school. In his argument stated a positive opinion, he explains the method of forming individuals’ moral awareness by means of inseparable integrity of feelings and thoughts, saying human being are born innately good. According to Mencius, heart-mind correlation is the motivational complement of inner incentives. Knowledge and virtue, which are extensions of inborn goodness, comprehended intuitively; then affective motives respond to circumstance, what is learned transmits to cognitive process and eventually behavior emerges. Comparing during the years of Warring State period he lived, in western geography Aristotle, who is one of the pioneers of Greek philosophy, argues deductive and inductive methods in mental activity. On the other hand, Mencius uses analogical reasoning throughout his self-titled work. This essay is an attempt to assert that most postulates of developmental theories, which have been considered an integral part of modern psychology, begin with Mencius in early era. Secondly, this study also aims to discuss the main paradigm of Mencius across emotivist-rationalist opposition, which keeps emotion above thought as well as reason above emotion.

Moral Awareness: A Source of Improved Sustainable Performance

Despite the increasing realization of the significance of work ethics and moral awareness (MA) in businesses after mega scandals, such as those of Enron and Tyco, few studies have investigated the relationship between MA and employees’ performance and the intermediate mechanisms that explain this relationship. This study proposes that as employees’ work ethics are calibrated through ethical training, their MA increases, in turn affecting employees’ job performance. This experimental study is aimed at investigating the impact of MA, increased through ethical training, on employees’ job performance. Based on institutional theory, the multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP) and strategic human resource management literature, it is hypothesized that MA of employees’ is positively correlated with employees’ performance and that this relationship is moderated by the age, gender and education level of the employees. In particular, the moral awareness component of ethical decision-making (EDM) models is considered as coextensive with work ethics in experimental design, and work ethics is depicted by a multidimensional work ethic profile (MWEP). The study used a sample of 100 employees of a golf club, divided into an experiment group and a control group with 50 employees each. The experiment group was subjected to an ethical training program focused on increasing MA. Employees’ performance for both groups was evaluated based on eight sub-variables. The study concluded that increasing MA increases employees’ performance, with no significant moderation effect of age, gender and education level on this relationship. The results of this study will go a long way in helping managers to increase the productivity of their employees through increased MA.

Factors Affecting Audit Professional Ethics - Approach from the Perception of Auditors in Vietnam

Auditor independence is one of the most important attributes of audit professional ethics. This article delivers a full insight into the perception of auditors about independence in the auditing activities in Vietnam. The article approaches from the auditor's perception in the actual working environment. The article uses a mixed approach based on the experimental methodology. The article uses the archival research method and group discussions method to analyze and assess the research problems and verify by experimental data. The article takes the group discussions with experts and surveys 300 directors, auditors, auditor assistants who are working in 70 auditing firms. The results show that perception of independence is affected by moral awareness, working environment, and professional Association. Factors affecting auditors’ independence from moral awareness of auditor include perception of utilitarianism, perception of deontology; perception of egoism. Factors affecting auditor’s independence from working environment: business philosophy, management practices. Factors relating to the professional association as orientation, supervision, risk of audit practice. In particular, factors relating to the risk of audit practice do not promote the preservation of auditor independence due to the low litigation risks in the Vietnamese auditing environment while the remaining factors motivate auditors to increase their independence. The article implies that the auditors, the audit firms, and the Association of Certified Public Accountants should possess appropriate orientations and policies to raise the perception of auditor independence. Thereby, auditors will improve their attitude and behavior to ensure independence.

Moral origins and Christian ethics: An interdisciplinary approach in conversation with J. Wentzel van Huyssteen

Only a small number of theologians attempt to explore the critical and constructive contributions theology can make to evolutionary accounts of morality. J. Wentzel van Huyssteen can be considered a pioneer in the science and theology discourse, with a special interest in the origin of morality as part of his pursuit of a more profound notion of human uniqueness in science and theology. In this article, the origin of moral awareness and morality will be explored by combining a variety of perspectives, including evolutionary anthropology, in an attempt to gain a more responsible notion of ethics and clarify its relationship to Christian theology. The interdisciplinary approach adopted in this study, in conversation with Van Huyssteen, reveals the necessity of distinguishing between moral awareness and morality, that is, moral norms, judgements and conventions. Evolutionary explanations of our innate sense of morality cannot explain any of our moral judgements or justify the truth claims regarding our moral judgements. Gaining insights from philosophy and developmental psychology, the origin of moral norms, judgements and conventions are explored on a more interactive level of cultural evolution and niche construction. Finally, this article briefly explores whether Van Huyssteen’s post-foundational rethinking of the imago Dei can offer insights into how this bottom-up approach to moral awareness and morality relates to Christian theology and ethics.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article, in conversation with Wentzel van Huyssteen, explores the origin of moral awareness and morality and its relation to ethics. The interdisciplinary conversation covers the fields of evolutionary anthropology, developmental psychology, philosophy and theology within the contemporary science and theology discourses.

Moral distress in midwifery practice: A concept analysis

Research suggests that the incidence of moral distress experienced by health professionals is significant and increasing, yet the concept lacks clarity and remains largely misunderstood. Currently, there is limited understanding of moral distress in the context of midwifery practice. The term moral distress was first used to label the psychological distress experienced following complex ethical decision-making and moral constraint in nursing. The term is now used across multiple health professions including midwifery, nursing, pharmacy and medicine, yet is used cautiously due to confusion regarding its theoretical and contextual basis. The aim of this study is to understand the concept of moral distress in the context of midwifery practice, describing the attributes, antecedents and consequences. This concept analysis uses Rodgers’ evolutionary framework and is the first stage of a sequential mixed-methods study. A literature search was conducted using multiple databases resulting in eight articles for review. Data were analysed using NVivo12©. Three core attributes were identified: moral actions and inactions, conflicting needs and negative feelings/emotions. The antecedents of clinical situations, moral awareness, uncertainty and constraint were identified. Consequences of moral distress include adverse personal professional and organisational outcomes. A model case depicting these aspects is presented. A midwifery focused definition of moral distress is offered as ‘a psychological suffering following clinical situations of moral uncertainty and/or constraint, which result in an experience of personal powerlessness where the midwife perceives an inability to preserve all competing moral commitments’. This concept analysis affirms the presence of moral distress in midwifery practice and provides evidence to move towards a consistent definition of moral distress.

The World Will Never Be the Same … But Will I Change? Anticipated Moral Change in Generation X Post-Corona Narratives

"In the “Letters from a Post-Corona Future” study, we asked participants to imagine a desirable world after the Corona crisis and their own place within it. In resulting narratives, any imagined that the future will not look like the past, but did they also imagine that their own moral orientation would change, that is, their stance towards what is a good human life, the norms and values deserving respect, and their moral behavior? To explore what we call “anticipated moral change”, we focused on Generation X participants (born between 1965 and 1980) since they may be sufficiently mature to have a settled moral orientation and feel concerned by the future, yet sufficiently adaptable to envision internal change. A total of 64 letters from 11 countries were examined. We used concepts from narrative ethics and futures studies to investigate whether anticipated moral change was present in the letters, and if so, in what direction. We identified six categories of anticipated moral change, from radical moral innovation to daily behavior change. We analyzed how these changes were depicted (e.g., metaphors, modals, idiomatic expressions, narrated futures), felt, justified or evaluated. Results consider the forward-looking moral self-perception of participants in terms of daily behavior, emotions, thoughts, self-advice, norms, values, ideals, images, and dreams, thus contribudting to a better understanding of prospective moral change in times of health crisis. We further conceptualized two important categories of change: the inclusion of personal change into collective moral change and renewed moral awareness. "

Book Review: Bula, A. (2020). Poetry as Throne for Sentimental Reticulation: A Review of Andrew Bula's Turns of Thoughts. Abuja: Old Press

This review article is a critical inspection of Andrew Bula's collection of poems, Turns of Thoughts (2020). As such, critical searchlights are thrown on poems as “Turns of Thoughts”, “Who Knows”, “Keeping Vigil”, “Love to Love”, “Wall Gecko”, “Far Out to the Woods”, “King on Fours in the Wilds”, “Trekking Home on a Windy Night”, ‘Presence and Space”, “Neighbour, Let’s Hate Hatred”, "Much Minuses & Little Pluses", "To Illumine our Rich, Fine World". In investigating these pieces, the aim really is to uncover the message and artistry of Bula's poetry. There are, of course, other pieces in the anthology that are simply mentioned in this review, without depth analyses. In such circumstances, the tendency is to liken them to other piece(s) or, quite simply, to take a cursory view of them. And then there is a showcasing of dominant literary devices as found in the poems as Rhetorical Questions, Paradox, Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Allusion, and Code Mixing. In the end, it is made out that Bula’s poetry is one of emotional elation and it reveals high moral awareness of, and gratitude to, important members of the public who have positively impacted society. Likewise, it is discovered that the poems also explore nature, love, and philosophical themes, while employing literary devices such as have already been mentioned.

Some instructional problems in the formation of family and moral values of students

In this article, we examine the instructional theoretical work on the formation of family-moral values ​​of students, conduct experimental work on a small experimental site and consider its concrete results. Methods were used to determine students' moral awareness, understanding family as value, family relationships, ability to control family conflicts, and active involvement in family decision-making. Theoretically, content analysis, synthesis, generalization, survey, diagnostics, and the like were organized. Based on the above, it is very effective to use Rokeach's method of "valuing the value". We present a percentage index based on the traditional relationships of the family institution in the form of a forming experiment organized on the basis of the "Psychological trainings for family life" series, which is organized in the right direction, in conjunction with the new social and economic conditions within the modern society. Keywords: Instruction, family values, technology, cultural relations, individuality, typology of values;

A Probe into the Ways to Improve the Cultural Emotional Identity of Chongqing Citizens

With the social existence that is formed by historical accumulation, Chongqing’ revolutionary cultural resources are derived and condensed from three historical stages which are the new democratic revolution, the socialist construction period, and the new period of reform and opening-up. In a modern society with people as the main body, promoting the cultural and emotional identity of urban residents are extremely important for the development of the city. Therefore, integrating Chongqing’s revolutionary cultural resources, guiding Chongqing citizens’ emotional identification with local urban culture through rationality and persuasion, behavioral restraints, and the cultivation of moral awareness in persuading people are important ways to build Chongqing’s urban culture.