The “Spam Caller Dilemma” and Its Reflection Under the Theory of Morality-as-Cooperation (MAC)

Abstract

A dilemma is characterized by a feeling of being torn between morally conflicting choices. Daily life has various moral dilemmas, often leading people to entangled situations. People are accustomed to the occurrence of moral dilemmas. However, opinions vary on how moral dilemmas arise. This paper proposes a moral dilemma called the "spam caller dilemma" under the premise of the morality-as-cooperation (MAC) theory and conducts small-scale online research to address this dilemma. This paper explores people's views on the conflict between the cooperative principles of kinship and reciprocal altruism through this study. It provides an example and theoretical basis for the cooperation theory of morality. The survey results show that around 70% of people believe that verbal abuse of spam phone calls in the event of one’s father's death is morally acceptable. Based on the research results, this article discusses the possible reasons for this result and proposes reflections and inspirations on this moral dilemma in daily life. It is concluded that when there is a conflict between kinship and reciprocity, more people seem to choose kinship. At the same time, there are also many influencing factors, such as emotional empathy, frustration with spam calls and stereotypes in specific industries.