Examining Moral Foundations Theory through Immigration Attitudes

Moral foundations theory (MFT) explains how political and cultural attitudes are shaped significantly by people’s moral intuitions; gut-level judgments about proper human behavior and social relationships. We examine the theory through the topic of immigration attitudes. Social scientists of various stripes have built a comprehensive research program studying public attitudes towards immigrants and immigration policy. Immigration is currently among the most contentious political issues in the United States and Europe—evidenced in part by the election of Donald Trump, the UK’s Brexit vote, and the recent rise of nationalist parties on the continent. Drawing on MFT and using one politically diverse sample and one liberal-leaning sample, we conducted two experiments respectively, to test whether effects of political orientation on US immigration attitudes may be moderated by alternative moral framing of pro-immigration appeals. Data support hypotheses, and is consistent with theoretical claims about moral diversity and political attitudes generally. Also, results shed new light on how shifts in immigration attitudes, that is whether one entrenches further into an original position or is persuaded into a new attitude, depend on one’s place on the political spectrum. Keywords: moral foundations theory, moral foundations, immigration, attitudes, moral intuition, experiment

Integrated Moral Agency and the Practical Phenomenon of Moral Diversity

The practical phenomenon of moral diversity is a central feature of many contemporary societies and poses a distinct problem to moral theory building. Because of its goal to settle the moral question fully and exclusively and/or to provide better understanding of moral disagreement, traditional first-order moral theory often does not provide sufficient guidance to address this phenomenon and moral agency in deeply morally diverse societies. In this article, I move beyond traditional first-order moral theorizing and, based on multilevel social contract theory (Moehler 2018, 2020a), develop a practically sound notion of moral agency for morally diverse societies. The interrelational and dynamic notion of integrated moral agency developed in this article demands that agents actively exercise their rational and affective capacities, are receptive to the capacities of others, and are aware of the type of moral interaction in which they engage with others. The notion of integrated moral agency helps agents to reconcile conflicting first-order moral directives and to maximally protect agents’ autonomy in morally diverse societies.

Tujuan Penciptaan sebagai Cara Memahami Keberagaman Etika dalam Kekristenan

Moral diversity can be a problem and has presented challenges and opportunities for Christian ethics, especially as it relates to the spirituality of the congregation. The prevalent moral pluralism shows a different understanding of the Bible's contents and the process of understanding God's will, coupled with the emergence of theories that want to make a certain viewpoint. In the process of exploring these issues, the article offers a reflection based on the teleological approach to creationism. The thesis of this article states that the doctrine of creation can be one of the important foundations in shaping Christian ethics in contemporary era.Keragaman moral bisa menjadi masalah dan telah menghadirkan tantangan dan peluang bagi etika Kristen, terutama yang berkaitan dengan kehidupan spiritualitas jemaat. Pluralisme moral yang banyak terjadi menunjukkan pemahaman yang berbeda juga dalam menggali isi Alkitab dan proses memahami kehendak Allah, ditambah lagi dengan munculnya teori-teori yang ingin menyudutkan satu pandangan tertentu. Dalam proses mengeksplorasi masalah-masalah ini, artikel ini menawarkan refleksi yang didasari dengan pendekatan teleologis dari ajaran penciptaan. Tesis dari artikel ini mengatakan bahwa doktrin penciptaan bisa menjadi salah satu fondasi penting dalam membentuk etika Kristen di zaman kontemporer.

Bioethics and the Rule of Law: A Classical Liberal Theory

Heated debates over healthcare policy in the United States point to the need for a legal framework that can sustain both moral diversity and peaceful cooperation. It is argued that the classical liberal Rule of Law, with its foundation in the ethical principle of permission, is such a framework. The paper shows to what extent the current healthcare policy landscape in the United States diverges from the rule of law and suggests how the current framework could be modified in order to better approximate that ideal. Two objections are then answered. The first is that the rule of law cannot be realized due to the structure of legislatures. The second objection is that government should guarantee both liberty and all of the necessary conditions of autonomy.

Becoming a medical assistance in dying (MAiD) provider: an exploration of the conditions that produce conscientious participation

The availability of willing providers of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada has been an issue since a Canadian Supreme Court decision and the subsequent passing of federal legislation, Bill C14, decriminalised MAiD in 2016. Following this legislation, Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) in Ontario, Canada, created a team to support access to MAiD for patients. This research used a qualitative, mixed methods approach to data collection, obtaining the narratives of providers and supporters of MAiD practice at HHS. This study occurred at the outset of MAiD practice in 2016, and 1 year later, once MAiD practice was established. Our study reveals that professional identity and values, personal identity and values, experience with death and dying, and organisation context are the most significant contributors to conscientious participation for MAiD providers and supporters. The stories of study participants were used to create a model that provides a framework for values clarification around MAiD practice, and can be used to explore beliefs and reasoning around participation in MAiD across the moral spectrum. This research addresses a significant gap in the literature by advancing our understanding of factors that influence participation in taboo clinical practices. It may be applied practically to help promote reflective practice regarding complex and controversial areas of medicine, to improve interprofessional engagement in MAiD practice and promote the conditions necessary to support moral diversity in our institutions.

Moralsk mangfold, oppvekst og livstolkning – et evolusjonspsykologisk perspektiv

In this article, I discuss the challenges of moral diversity in Norwegian public school from the perspective of Jonathan Haidt’s moral foundations theory. I take my cue from Haidt’s distinction between individualistic and sociocentric societies and discuss some implications of this distinction with regard to the introduction of the new curriculum (fagfornyelsen, in Norwegian). I argue that the subject curriculum is rooted in a morality that is characteristic of what Haidt refers to as WEIRD societies (i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rational, Democracies). My thesis is that this moral matrix rests on cultural assumptions that differ substantially from those of immigrant pupils in Norwegian schools. The particularities of sociocentric moral matrices seem to fall in the blind zone of the subject curriculum. Yet it is important that the school system acknowledge its role in the creation of a community to which every pupil might experience an allegiance. In order to create a shared value foundation, teachers need to be aware of pupils’ affiliations to different moral matrices. Thus, we need to rethink what moral socialization means in a multicultural society.

Dissecting the empirical-normative divide in business ethics

Purpose This paper aims to probe the limits of the empirical-normative divide as a conceptual framework in business ethics. Design/methodology/approach A systems theory perspective debunks this divide as a false distinction that cannot do justice to the conceptual complexity of the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) scholarship. Findings Drawing on the systems-theoretic ideas of Niklas Luhmann and the “Laws of Form” by George Spencer Brown, the paper shows that the divide may be dissected into a four-cell matrix constituted by two other distinctions-descriptive vs prescriptive and categorical vs hypothetical-the latter of which was seminally suggested by Donaldson and Preston (1995). Practical implications The emerging four-cell matrix is shown to centrally embrace the multiplicity of normative, empirical and instrumental approaches to CSR. This multiplicity is exemplified by the application of these approaches to the phenomenon of CSR communication. Social implications A more general implication of the proposed argument for the field of business ethics is in tracing the phenomena of moral diversity and moral ambivalence back to the regime of functional differentiation as the distinguishing feature of the modern society. This argument drives home the point that economic operations are as ethical or unethical as political operations, and that both economic and political perspectives on ethical issues are as important or unimportant as are religious, artistic, educational or scientific perspectives. Originality/value In contrast to the empirical-normative divide, the perspective is shown to centrally embrace the multiplicity of normative, empirical and instrumental approaches to CSR.

Christian Formation and Moral Pluralism: Challenges and Opportunities

Moral diversity presents challenges and opportunities for Christian ethics, especially with regard to education and formation. Moral pluralism designates a response to that diversity predicated on the belief that such diversity is good and worthy of protection. Is moral pluralism a viable and authentically Christian stance? Attention to moral pluralism in Christian ethics is often muted or implied. Moreover, features of some Christian moral traditions make it difficult to envision a Christian affirmation of moral diversity as good. This article invites Christian ethics to engage questions around moral diversity and pluralism as a central task for Christian education and formation.