Divine Ethics Research Articles

The aesthetic of nomadism and the logic of perception in creative action (Recurrences in the geographies of the sensed)

The artwork was born from the womb of flat surfaces that have neither specific direction nor destination. It emanates from infinite chaotic surfaces, overlapping and contradicting, intertwining and entwining vertically and horizontally in ways that are not subject to logical geometrical norms. Despite all the chaos and emptiness, existence remains steadfast in its elements and its primitive colors because of its interchangeable event. Art does not differ from nature. Perception brings them together in a mixture of colors on the surface of the painting. The artist transfers his infinite perceptions to an expression of what draws man to the world to endless ideas and sensations expressing the instinctive inattentiveness of existence. As it is an artistic event multiplying the desire to seek victory in the world and belief in life in its diversity, dissonance, and multiplicity. It validates life against death, consolidates fun, and exalts joy and forces of nature against transcendence and divine ethics.

Muʿtezile’nin Ahlâkî Realizmine Karşı Îcî’nin Argümanları

Al-Ījī presents the final stage of Ashʿarism, and his arguments reflect the traditional and philosophical approaches in the school. This paper presents the main arguments that al-Ījī deployed to refute the Muʿtazilites’ ethical realism. Its aim is to present the exact form of al-Ījī’s arguments, explain them, discuss the objections, and then evaluate their strengths. The paper’s aim is to explain the Muʿtazilites’ arguments; nevertheless, it gives some clarifications when it is needed to understand al-Ījī’s arguments in a better way. In the beginning, the paper draws a distinct line between the Ashʿarites’ and the Muʿtazilite ethical understandings. It defines the focus of the controversy and prepares the groundwork for theological arguments. Al-Ījī’s arguments are divided into three categories. In the first one, we present al-Ījī’s general argument, which is a polemic argument whereby al-Ījī tries to negate the freedom of human choice in order to cast doubt on the Muʿtazilite ethical foundations. We discuss its critique, and then reveal al-Ījī’s real position on human power and freedom of choice. The second category contains three arguments against the intrinsic ethical value: two of the arguments were adopted by al-Ījī and the third was attributed to other Ashʿarites in a general way. The first two arguments deal with the intrinsic ethical values of lying and truth-telling, while the third one is based on the Ashʿarite famous assertion: ‘an accident cannot subsist on another accident.’ The final category is dedicated to discussing al-Ījī’s argument against the Muʿtazilite theory of ethical aspects. A sufficient account of the theory and its partisans is provided before discussing al-Ījī’s argument. Moreover, a brief introduction of Al-Ījī’s and the Muʿtazilites’ conception of divine ethics is discussed in the folds of the argument. Some divine qualities, such as justice and wisdom, are defined from the Ashʿarites’ and the Muʿtazilites’ perspectives. As a result, the paper gives a clear account of al-Ījī’s arguments against the Muʿtazilites’ ethical realism; it presents and evaluates the objections and defines the strengths and the defects in the arguments. Finally, it proposes a better way to understand the Ashʿarites’ ethical arguments in their right context.

Sekularisasi Etika dan Krisis Moral Masa Kini

Secularisation of ethics is one of the dimensions of secularism that gives a direct impact on man’s way of life. Secularism as a philosophical program that began hundreds of years ago in Europe provided a materialistic and hedonistic parameter to measure human development and happiness. This study highlights the effects of modern moral philosophy, in particular Kantianism, utilitarianism, and emotivism, upon contemporary moral crises. It refuted the claim of the proponents of the secularisation of ethics that religion, particularly the belief in God, is not essential in morality. The failure of modern Western ethics in providing a universal and effective ethical theory has led to the marginalisation of ethics in all aspects of life. The secularisation of ethics which brings about deconsecration of values has negated God’s authority and affirmed man’s autonomy to decide on moral values, resulting in the dissolution of absolute moral standards and universal moral values. This research, therefore, reiterates the central role of Divine ethics and specifically Islamic ethics in providing universal and absolute moral obligations which has the capacity to save mankind from the perils of ethical relativism and moral bankruptcy.

Moral reasoning among children in India: The intersection of culture, development, and social class

The study included 144 Indian children in middle childhood and early adolescence of high and low SES. Based on the cultural-developmental approach, the aims were to test hypotheses about use of the three Ethics of Autonomy, Community and Divinity, and to gain qualitative insights into the children’s indigenous moral concepts. Three findings stood out: 1) Older children employed a rich set of indigenous duty concepts, thereby also using the Ethic of Community more than younger children. 2) Younger children already reasoned in terms of the Ethic of Divinity. 3) High-SES children used the Ethic of Autonomy more than low-SES children and conceptualized the individual in independent and psychological terms; whereas low-SES children’s view of autonomy invoked fear of physical punishment. The cultural-developmental theory and methodology revealed sides of children’s moral reasoning that are largely missing in Western studies, and point to new research directions in moral development and socialization.

The Cultural Psychology of Religiosity, Spirituality, and Secularism in Adolescence.

Cultural psychology has raised awareness of religiosity, spirituality, and secularism in people’s psychological lives. This article takes a cultural-developmental approach by examining the development of religiosity, spirituality, and secularism among culturally diverse adolescents. At the outset, an explanation is provided as to why the valid study of peoples’ psychological lives necessitates taking culture into account, and of key implications for theory and methodology. Throughout research on adolescent religiosity, spirituality, and secularism is described, including studies on conceptions of God, afterlife beliefs, the development of an Ethic of Divinity in moral reasoning, recent increases in spirituality and secularism, and the impact of globalization on worldviews and religiously-based puberty rituals. While the focus is on adolescents, the article includes relevant research with children and emerging adults. Concrete future research directions are proposed, including a call to address the extent to which effects of religion on adolescents are dependent on culture and globalization.

Mapping ideal ways of living: Virtue and vice lists in 1QS and 4Q286

This article analyses virtue and vice lists in ancient Hebrew literature, specifically focusing on those found in 1QS and 4Q286. It is argued that these texts from Qumran offer distinctive evidence for extended lists of virtues and vices. Apart from illustrating ideals of the yaḥad movement, the sources invite us to consider what counted as ethical to ancient Jews and whether the texts indicate any attempt to organize ethical concerns. The authors lacked a meta-category denoting “virtue” (cf. ἀρετή in Greek or virtus in Latin), but they discussed a myriad of specific virtues and vices by way of listing and grouping (un)desirable qualities that can be characterized as moral, intellectual, and ritual. It is also likely that the authors regarded the qualities of wisdom and truth as elevated “master virtues” of some kind. The article ends with reflections on the types of ethics attested in 1QS and 4Q286. Drawing on anthropological research, the texts are argued to primarily promote what could be called “ethics of divinity.”

RETRACTED: Beyond Autonomy? Moral Socialization Goals of German and Indonesian Preschool Teachers

The moral socialization of preschool children has so far mostly been investigated in the informal context of family, but with an increasing institutionalization of early childhood education worldwide, preschool teachers now play a prominent role as moral socialization agents. Accordingly, we investigated the institutional moral socialization of the three ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity in two different cultural contexts. Preschool teachers (PTs) from urban German ( n = 73) and Indonesian ( n = 135) contexts completed a paper–pencil survey assessing their moral socialization goals for preschool children concerning the three ethics via the Ethical Values Assessment (EVA_S). Confirmatory factor analyses were carried out separately for the German and Indonesian samples and confirmed the proposed three-factor structure. Measurement invariance tests for the EVA_S indicated metric, but not scalar invariance. Thus, subsequent intra- and cross-cultural analyses were conducted with centered values. The results indicate that German PTs emphasized the ethic of Autonomy for moral socialization, while Indonesian PTs promoted the ethic of Divinity. Across cultures, Autonomy and Divinity socialization goals correlated with the PTs’ preference of the ethics in their moral reasoning. Furthermore, Divinity socialization goals were related to the PTs’ religiosity and their preschools having a religious affiliation in both cultural contexts. These findings contribute to our understanding of institutional moral socialization and cultural as well as subcultural contextual influences.

Gendered Boundaries, Cultured Lives: The Underexplored Dimensions of Duty (Kartavya) in the Indian Family Context

The article highlights gender-specific elements in the notions of duty ( kartavya) in the Indian familial context. Using a hypothetical dilemma about gender roles and employment, in depth interviews were conducted with 120 respondents comprising young adults and their parents from the Maharashtrian community of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India. A majority of respondents, men as well as women, could recognize the unfairness (towards women) in the scenario but did not accord it enough importance because doing so could result in negative consequences (like family disharmony or social isolation) for the self as well as the family. Classifying the justifications under the Big Three Ethics of Autonomy, Community and Divinity (Jensen, 1996, Coding manual: Ethics of autonomy, community and divinity, Unpublished Manuscript) showed maximum use of the ethic of community, closely followed by autonomy. There was negligible use of the ethic of divinity. Indicating cultural continuity amidst social change, younger respondents and older women showed flexible mentalities about gender roles and corresponding responsibilities as compared to those of older men. At the interface of gender and culture, the article highlights complexities, which shape ideas of autonomy and fairness in the Indian context.

Divinity Revised: The De- and Re-Contextualization of Adolescent Divinity Reasoning in Globalizing Thailand.

This article explores how globalization reshapes moral development in northern Thailand. Employing a cultural-developmental approach to examine interview data gathered over the course of one year, the article discusses variations in Divinity-based moral reasoning among adolescents residing in variously globalized Thai communities. Quantitative analysis shows that moral reasoning diverges across contexts of globalization, with rural adolescents reasoning more in terms of the Ethic of Divinity than urban adolescents. Qualitative analysis shows how the meaning of Divinity diverges, with the Ethic of Divinity co-occurring alongside the Ethic of Community among rural adolescents, and the Ethic of Divinity co-occurring alongside the Ethic of Autonomy among urban adolescents. Analyses further indicate that rural and urban adolescents invoke distinct Divinity principles altogether. Findings suggest that in urban settings, Divinity is decontextualized from traditional community-driven Thai Buddhism and recontextualized to align with values that are adaptive in a globalized society. This article contributes to, and offers suggestions for, the empirical study of the moral psychology of globalization.

Ethical Correlates of Environmental Consciousness among Members and Non-Members of Nature Club

The need and relevance of the concerns for nature and a pro-environmental attitude and behaviour is at its peak in the present world. It has been long recognized that ecological balance and safety of nature is central to human existence on earth. Despite this understanding, human activities are deteriorating the earth. If this situation is allowed to continue, the earth will soon turn out to be a useless and lifeless planet, along with marking the very end of human existence. One way to tackle this crisis is to reduce and prevent human actions that pose threats to nature and environment. A sustainable change in such actions is achieved effectively only by bringing about a change in ethics, values and attitudes of people. Ethics refers to a code of conduct. Values held by people contribute to their ethics. Since values are acquired, it can be instilled into people through different means; also implying that they are changeable. The concept of environmental consciousness refers to specific psychological factors related to individual’s propensity to engage in pro-environmental behaviors (Zelezny & Schultz, 2000:367). Environmental consciousness can also be addressed as the psychological dimension of pro-environmental behavior. Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the ‘ethical correlates of environmental consciousness among members and non-members of nature club’. Method: (a) Participants: The study was conducted on 54 high school students from various schools in Ernakulam district, Kerala. Participants included both members (n=21) and non-members (n=33) of any kind of nature club. (b) Materials: The Ethical Values Assessment (EVA- Jensen & Padilla, 2004) and New Ecological Paradigm Scale- Revised (NEP Revised-Dunlap, R. E., & Van Liere, K., Mertig, A., &Jones, R. E., 2000). EVA measures 3 categories of ethics, namely: Ethics of Autonomy, Ethics of Community and Ethics of Divinity. NEP scale assesses ecological worldview along 5 dimensions, namely: Reality of Limits to Growth, Ant anthropocentricism, Fragility of Nature’s Balance, Rejection of Exemptionalism and the Possibility of Eco-crisis. (c) Analysis: Analysis was done using ‘t- test’ and ‘correlation’. (d) Results: There is significant difference between members and non-members of nature club in the dimensions Ethics of community, Overall ethics, Overall ecological worldview and Awareness of the possibility of eco-crisis. Students with membership in nature clubs have higher Ethics of community, Overall ethics, Overall ecological worldview (significance at 5% level) and Awareness of the possibility of eco-crisis (significance at 1% level). Also, Overall ethics has a significant positive correlation with Overall ecological worldview. Conclusion: Membership in nature club is found to enhance better environmental consciousness and ethics. The study implies that making students part of nature clubs facilitate pro-environmental behavior and better ethics.

Moral decision-making among young muslim adults on harmless taboo violations: The effects of gender, religiosity, and political affiliation

Shweder's Big Three Theory of Intuitive moral approach has not yet been investigated in Muslim culture. We aim at replicating Haidt and his colleagues' (1993) work using harmless taboo violation stories with a Muslim population of 167 young adults in Turkey. Participants' justifications and victim references were examined in terms of the three ethics of morality and their subsequent link to perceived harmfulness. Results revealed that moral judgments differed by participants' gender, political affiliation, and religiosity. Women were more supportive of interference and felt more bothered than men. Secularists, Islamists, and also highly religious people were similar on most of the dimensions of moral decision making. Consequently, influences of moral intuitions varied by culture, political affiliation, religiosity level, and gender, while perceived harmfulness was most correlated to the ethic of divinity.

Do Chinese distinguish between ethics of community, autonomy and divinity?*

The CAD model has identified three major domains of ethics: the ethics of autonomy, the ethics of community and the ethics of divinity. Moral foundation theory (MFT) further postulates that justice- and harm-related morality are moral foundations of autonomous ethics, and violations of these foundations would elicit anger. Ingroup loyalty and authority are the moral foundations of the ethics of community, and violations of these foundations would evoke contempt. Finally, purity is the moral foundation of the ethics of divinity, and violations of this foundation would elicit disgust. The present study was carried out to evaluate the applicability of the CAD model and MFT in China. We measured Chinese participants' moral concerns in and emotional reactions to a representative sample of 156 culturally relevant immoral events. Based on pretest results, each event was categorized into events that are relevant to one of five moral foundations. The participants were presented with descriptions of the events sequentially and reported their emotions to each event using one of the three response formats (Western emotional faces, emotional words, Asian emotional faces). The results provide consistent support for the applicability of the CAD model and MFT in China.

The Moral Reasoning of U.S. Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Children, Adolescents, and Adults: A Cultural-Developmental Study.

This cultural-developmental interview study examined moral reasoning in relation to religious culture (evangelical, mainline Protestants), age (children, adolescents, adults), and moral issue (public, private; N = 120). Compared to adolescents and adults, children used more Ethic of Autonomy and less Ethic of Community reasoning. With age, differences between religious cultures became pronounced. Mainline adults invoked an Ethic of Divinity for private issues. Evangelical adolescents and adults used this ethic frequently, but more for public than private issues. These and other findings indicate that evangelical and mainline Protestants diverge on what should be society's moral lingua franca, and cast new and nuanced light on America's "culture wars." Results furthermore highlight comodulation of development and culture that requires life course research on moral reasoning.

“There’s More Between Heaven and Earth”

In a qualitative interview study, 18 Danish emerging adults (ages 18-27) were asked about their religious beliefs and moral views. Most had received little or no formal religious training within their families, but they nevertheless participated in the “confirmation” process in the Danish state Lutheran church at age 14. Regarding their current beliefs, the majority were nonbelievers (agnostic, atheist, or no beliefs), and none expressed a traditional Christian faith. Nevertheless, they held a variety of beliefs in some kind of life after death; relatively few participants believed that death is simply the end of existence. In the two questions assessing moral views, participants drew from the Ethic of Autonomy and the Ethic of Community, but not the Ethic of Divinity. This finding also indicated the absence of religious considerations in the lives of Danish emerging adults. Overall, the results provide further information on the religious and moral beliefs of emerging adults, and on views of religious questions in an exceptionally nonreligious country.

Situation Based Moral Evaluation

In this paper an endeavour has been made to contest against the idea of a narrow 'universalistic' definition of morality, and to emphasize on the diverse nature of the moral domain. This diversity can be attributed, both to the cultural input on a larger scale; as well to the specificity of the immediate context in which the moral incidence unfolds.Tracing back this area of study to the pioneer works of Piaget (1932/1965), and Kohlberg (1969, 1981) morality was conceptualized primarily as pertaining to the issues of 'justice'. Piaget's classical open ended clinical interviews questioned children about rules of the marble games, if they could be changed under any circumstance ;and questions based on the short stories revolving around intentions and consequences (ill-intentioned protagonist causing more damage, than the well intentioned character, so who is naughtier?). Kohlberg who extended Piaget's work further, presented moral dilemmas to his participants, and on the basis of their reasoning proposed eight hierarchical stages of moral development. According to him the highest stage of moral reasoning is characterized by abstract rules of human welfare, which holds good across all situations and time. Thus, according to these pioneers morality can be defined as justice, pertaining to the issues of harm, and fairness. Later researchers like Shweder (1997) and Haidt and Graham (2009) broadened the domain of morality, by bringing in the inputs of the culture. Shweder et al. (1997) gave 'three ethics' of moral discourse: the ethics of autonomy, the ethics of community, and the ethics of divinity. As an extension of Shweder's three ethics, Moral foundation theory was proposed (Haidt & Joseph, 2004; Haidt & Graham 2009). In their theory they tried to identify the best candidates for being the psychological foundations upon which the cultures create an enormous variety of moral systems. The five hypothesized foundations are: 1) Care/ harm, (2) Fairness/ cheating, (3) loyalty/ betrayal, (4) Authority/subversion (5) Sanctity/ degradation. The first two foundations of Haidt and colleagues can be said to be parallel to Shweder's dimension of'autonomy', which is closest to the traditional definition proposed by Piaget and Kohlberg. Thus, the moral domain goes beyond 'harm' and 'fairness', to include other cultural values.As was mentioned in the beginning of the paper that moral domain is diverse by virtue of the inputs from the culture, as well as by being governed by the immediate context. By immediate context we imply that the meaning of a particular moral value is determined by the context in which the moral incidence unfolds, and thus can undergo metamorphosis with time, as well as can be contingent on certain specific aspects of the situation. This idea seems to be in contrast to what Turiel and colleagues (1987) had proposed in their famous moral/ convention distinction. According to the mmoral judgments, apart from being related to harm, welfare and fairness, are also generalizable across situations, culture, and time. In contrast conventions pertain to the issue of social organization, and are restricted to specific situations and culture. The issue of gcncralizability with regard to morality has been criticized by Kelley, Stich, Flalcy, Eng, and Fessier (2007) and is supported by their empirical work. In their study they provided participants with different instances of harm varying along the dimension of time, place, and authority. It was found that participants' decision as to whether it is ok to inflict harm depended on factors like time, place and whether it was prohibited by the authority.The present study too adds to the research evidence in favor of Kelly and his colleagues. It discusses how moral value is not pervasive, i.e. they do not hold good under all situations. Rather their meanings change with time, and are contingent on some situational factors. For the purpose of understanding how context influences morals, everyday discourse between parents and children were recorded, and subjected to discourse analysis. …

Islamic Values and Nursing Practice in Kuwait.

This qualitative study sought to illuminate the perception among Muslim nurses in Kuwait of the role of Islamic values on their nursing practice. Ethnography, specifically Leininger's small scale ethnonursing design, guided the study. Eighteen male and female Muslim nurses from five countries, who were working as nurses in Kuwait, were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed and examined for themes. Seven themes emerged (1) altruistic relationships as a core value; (2) all care as spiritual care; (3) desire for greater understanding and respect as nurses and as Muslims; (4) professional kinship that transcends culture, religion, and nationality; (5) nursing ethics from divine ethics; (6) religious teachings promoting health; (7) radical acceptance of God's will, balanced with hope of reward. The centrality of the value altruism to nursing care from the Islamic perspective and the apparent seamless integration of care of the spirit with care of the body were significant findings consistent with the literature. The deep longing to be better understood, both as nurses and as Muslims, speaks to needed public education across the spectrum of religious belief and needed strengthening of professional kinship.

THE CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THREE FUNDAMENTAL MORAL ETHICS: AUTONOMY, COMMUNITY, AND DIVINITY

Abstract. In this essay, I describe my Cultural‐Developmental Template Approach to moral psychology. This theory draws on my research with the Three Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity, and the work of many other scholars. The cultural‐developmental synthesis suggests that the Ethic of Autonomy emerges early in people's psychological lives, and continues to hold some importance across the lifespan. But Autonomy is not alone. The Ethic of Community too emerges early and appears to increase in importance across the life course. Then, it also seems that in most places and at most times, the Ethic of Divinity has found a voice—and in some traditions this ethic may become audible in adolescence. Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity, then, may have universal roots in the human condition. However, they are also clearly culturally and historically situated. Cultural communities—whether defined by religious, national, or other boundaries—vary in how they prioritize the three ethics and the extent to which they reinforce their development.

THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF EMOTIONS IN THE BHAGAVAD GĪTĀ

Religious texts and historical narratives are instrumental in defining appropriate emotions and moral reasoning in a culture. In the Bhagavad Gıtā, the warrior Arjuna is faced with a twofold dilemma: are his emotions appropriate and should emotions influence his actions? The Gıtā is thought to be a redacted text with three primary layers: the original verses, the Sāmkhya/Yoga layer, and the devotional bhakti layer. Cross-cultural psychological theories of emotions are employed to analyze the layers of the Gıtā. It is argued that each of the three layers corresponds with one of three possible moral codes as proposed by R. A. Shweder and his colleagues (1997; 2000): the Ethic of Autonomy (promoting personal well-being and avoiding shame); the Ethic of Community (maintaining social order and emotional detachment); and the Ethic of Divinity (upholding cosmic order and endorsing emotional devotion). These three perspectives remain relevant for deciding emotionally laden moral dilemmas today.

Moral Divisions within Countries between Orthodoxy and Progressivism: India and the United States

Recently, scholars have argued that divisions have emerged within many countries between tendencies toward orthodoxy or fundamentalism on the one hand, and progressivism or modernism on the other hand. In the present study, interviews assessing moral evaluation and reasoning were carried out with individuals in India and the United States who might be expected to tend toward orthodoxy and progressivism (N = 80, ages 35-55). In both countries, progressivists reasoned more in terms of Shweder's (1990) Ethic of Autonomy than orthodox participants, whereas orthodox participants reasoned more in terms of the Ethic of Divinity than progressivists. However, cross-cultural differences were also found. Progressivist Americans more than progressivist Indians tended toward hyperindividualism.

Culture wars: American moral divisions across the adult lifespan

Sociologists have argued that the public moral debate in contemporary America is characterized by a “culture war,” pitting “orthodox” and “progressivist” groups against one another (Hunter, 1991). This study addressed whether the culture war is evident in the moral thinking of ordinary Americans, and whether age-related patterns exist. Sixty fundamentalist Baptists (orthodox) and 60 mainline Baptists (progressivist) evaluated and reasoned about moral issues such as divorce and abortion. Each group was divided evenly into three age groups copsisting of young, midlife, and older adults. Moral reasoning was analyzed in terms of Shweder's (1990) ethics of autonomy, community, and divinity. Within all three age groups, progressivists used the ethic of, autonomy more than orthodox participants. Orthodox participants used the ethic of divinity more than progressivists. Orthodox and progressivist groups did not differ much in their use of the ethic, of community. Very few age group differences were found within the orthodox and progressivist groups. It is concluded that morality is conceived of in markedly different wasy by orthodox and progressivist groups, and that these conceptions are consistent across age groups.