Case-Based Evidence and Local Custom

How do institutional arrangements and social capital work, and do cases on the ground corroborate what has been conceptualized? Some case-based evidence of MSMEs in different regions provide clues to that question. The role of trust and local solution to achieve a particular goal, including fostering environmental-friendly activities, is highlighted. The evidence also helps permeate the practical and moral thinking of the issues related to MSME operations influenced by local customs and customary laws.

Construction of "moral thinking" centered on critical thinking: Developing reasoning power for elementary and junior high school students

In order to minimize various social risks, including situations such as COVID-19, each person needs to make decisions and act calmly with morals. To do that, it is insufficient to merely aim for children to receive basic acquaintance and information literacy. The future will require more to be gained from education, including the provision of human-specific skills such as creativity and emotional intelligence. It is essential to teach concepts such as empathy and harmonious coexistence, preparing children for the future and leading to further benefits for society. There is a particular emphasis on moral education in Japan, where a policy of 'Moral Education through Thinking and Discussion' is being pursued. Professor Masami Ikeda, Jumonji University, and Associate Professor Koji Miyamoto, Tokyo Kasei University, are collaborating to create a moral critical thinking workbook. The goal is to address Japan's policy aims, as well as the current lack of critical thinking teaching in schools. The researchers are emphasising the importance of moral thinking centred on critical thinking to build a rich symbiotic relationship. With the Japanese state's drive for the 'Moral Education of Thinking and Discussion', this is now being taught as a new class in schools, which prompted Ikeda and Miyamoto to look at how morality is, and can be further, linked to critical thinking. The researchers are also interested in cognitive bias and are seeking to make people more aware of their personal biases. Ikeda and Miyamoto have conducted trial classes and large-scale questionnaires in order to acquire evidence for their novel moral thinking approach. They have created a new moral thinking scale comprising four cornerstone moral thinking factors: contributing individuals; impartial individuals; responsible individuals; and family-minded individuals.

3. Atheist ethics

‘Atheist ethics’ argues that atheists are not only capable of leading moral lives, they may even be more able to do so than those who confuse divine law and punishment with right and wrong. The Euthyphro dilemma is very powerful argument against the idea that God is required for morality. An objection to the possibility of a godless morality is the degree of personal choice it seems to leave to the individual. It is important to identify the source(s) of morality and look at the concept of moral thinking. Ultimately, many remain unconvinced that secular ethics really can thrive without some kind of religious foundation.

Binding moral values gain importance in the presence of close others

A key function of morality is to regulate social behavior. Research suggests moral values may be divided into two types: binding values, which govern behavior in groups, and individualizing values, which promote personal rights and freedoms. Because people tend to mentally activate concepts in situations in which they may prove useful, the importance they afford moral values may vary according to whom they are with in the moment. In particular, because binding values help regulate communal behavior, people may afford these values more importance when in the presence of close (versus distant) others. Five studies test and support this hypothesis. First, we use a custom smartphone application to repeatedly record participants’ (n = 1166) current social context and the importance they afforded moral values. Results show people rate moral values as more important when in the presence of close others, and this effect is stronger for binding than individualizing values—an effect that replicates in a large preregistered online sample (n = 2016). A lab study (n = 390) and two preregistered online experiments (n = 580 and n = 752) provide convergent evidence that people afford binding, but not individualizing, values more importance when in the real or imagined presence of close others. Our results suggest people selectively activate different moral values according to the demands of the situation, and show how the mere presence of others can affect moral thinking.

Veganism, Moral Motivation and False Consciousness

Despite the strength of arguments for veganism in the animal rights literature, alongside environmental and other anthropocentric concerns posed by industrialised animal agriculture, veganism remains only a minority standpoint. In this paper, I explore the moral motivational problem of veganism from the perspectives of moral psychology and political false consciousness. I argue that a novel interpretation of the post-Marxist notion of political false consciousness may help to make sense of the widespread refusal to shift towards veganism. Specifically, the notion of false consciousness fills some explanatory gaps left by the moral psychological notion of akrasia, often understood to refer to a weakness of will. Central to my approach is the idea that animal exploitation is largely systemic and the assumption that moral motivation is inseparable from moral thinking. In this light, the primary obstacle to the adoption of veganism arises not so much from a failure to put genuine beliefs into action, but rather in a shared, distorted way of thinking about animals. Thus, common unreflective objections to veganism may be said to be manifestations of false consciousness.

Construction of "moral thinking" centered on critical thinking: Developing reasoning power for elementary and junior high school students

In order to minimize various social risks, including situations such as COVID-19, each person needs to make decisions and act calmly with morals. To do that, it is insufficient to merely aim for children to receive basic acquaintance and information literacy. The future will require more to be gained from education, including the provision of human-specific skills such as creativity and emotional intelligence. It is essential to teach concepts such as empathy and harmonious coexistence, preparing children for the future and leading to further benefits for society. There is a particular emphasis on moral education in Japan, where a policy of 'Moral Education through Thinking and Discussion' is being pursued. Professor Masami Ikeda, Jumonji University, and Associate Professor Koji Miyamoto, Tokyo Kasei University, are collaborating to create a moral critical thinking workbook. The goal is to address Japan's policy aims, as well as the current lack of critical thinking teaching in schools. The researchers are emphasising the importance of moral thinking centred on critical thinking to build a rich symbiotic relationship. With the Japanese state's drive for the 'Moral Education of Thinking and Discussion', this is now being taught as a new class in schools, which prompted Ikeda and Miyamoto to look at how morality is, and can be further, linked to critical thinking. The researchers are also interested in cognitive bias and are seeking to make people more aware of their personal biases. Ikeda and Miyamoto have conducted trial classes and large-scale questionnaires in order to acquire evidence for their novel moral thinking approach. They have created a new moral thinking scale comprising four cornerstone moral thinking factors: contributing individuals; impartial individuals; responsible individuals; and family-minded individuals.

FANÁTICO MORAL

O artigo discute o fanático moral a partir da perspectiva do prescritivismo universal. (I) Discutem-se as teses da prescritividade e da universalizabilidade e o vínculo entre o prescritivismo universal e o utilitarismo. (II) Discutem-se o problema do fanático moral e o contra-argumento desenvolvido por Hare no livro Freedom and Reason. (III) Discute-se o contra-argumento desenvolvido por Hare no Moral Thinking. (IV) Discutem-se os limites dos argumentos do fanático. (V) Conclui-se que o contra-argumento do fanático moral não implica uma contradição no prescritivismo universal.

Dialogue on Ethics, Ethics of Dialogue: Microgenetic Analysis of Students’ Moral Thinking

In this chapter we propose a methodological approach: we intend to explore the relations between children’s representations of moral issues as elaborated in dialogue (dialogue on ethics, DoE) and the ethical dimension of the children’s moral conduct towards each other (ethics of dialogue, EoD), where we expect to find interesting relations to explore. For example, if a child expresses tolerance towards a character in a video, to what extent does that child express tolerance towards the ideas and utterances of other children present in the interactive situation? The values we intend to focus on are the three main values at the heart of DIALLS: tolerance, empathy, and inclusion. We will examine the possible reciprocity between talking and doing, form and content, meta-dialogue and dialogue.