Moral Foundations Research Articles

Investigating the Relationship between Religion and Morality: Insight from Hume

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation between religion and morality. David Hume, an influential figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, provides insightful contributions to this discourse through his philosophical works. This article explores Hume's nuanced views on the relationship between religion and morality, drawing from his key texts such as "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" and "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals." Hume challenges the traditional notion that religion is a necessary foundation for morality. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he argues that moral principles do not derive from religious doctrine or divine commandments but instead from human sentiment and reason. Hume contends that moral judgments are based on a natural sense of empathy and utility rather than religious authority. Furthermore, Hume critiques the idea that religion is essential for maintaining moral order within society. He suggests that religious beliefs and institutions may, in fact, be detrimental to morality by promoting superstition, intolerance, and dogmatism. Hume advocates for a secular approach to morality, where ethical principles are grounded in rational reflection and social cooperation rather than religious doctrine. While Hume challenges the traditional link between the two, he acknowledges the historical influence of religion on moral development and societal norms. Hume recognizes the social utility of religion in fostering moral virtues and promoting social cohesion, albeit without attributing morality exclusively to religious sources.

Phan Chu Trinh's Ideology on National Self

Phan Chu Trinh is a famous Vietnamese intellectual in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He believed that national self-strengthening is the decisive factor for the existence and the development of a nation. He emphasized that the spirit of national autonomy and national solidarity is considered as a weapon against oppression, to protect the national culture and identity. Phan Chu Trinh had searched for a new moral foundation for the nation based on the combination of East and West. He believed that it was necessary to expand the people's knowledge, revive the people's morale, and restore the people's livelihood in order to strengthen the national self-strengthening. His ideology had expressed a strong desire for national patriotic tradition, a sense of national independence and national self-strengthening. His contribution is not only to the Vietnamese but also to the expanding impact on the world political philosophy. In this article, we will clarify the Phan Chu Trinh's ideology on national self-strengthening and his contribution to the world political philosophy.

Ética e Organização do Conhecimento

This article seeks to relate the foundations of Ethics and Knowledge Organization, perceiving them as internally connected, in order to build conceptual bridges between the two fields. The objective is to propose a characterization of Ethics and Social Justice, pointing out the consequences of its denial or absence in the Knowledge Organization. For this, a qualitative investigation was carried out that places the ethical debate in Plato and in the formation of ancient Greek philosophy, as well as presenting the concept of Social Justice as parity of participation, along the lines established by Nancy Fraser. The results indicate that the practice focused on Social Justice can be considered a super value for the Organization of Knowledge, acting in the sense of strengthening its own theoretical foundation and its orientation towards the expansion of democracy.

The Enlightenment prophet: Muhammad in early modern Europe

This article examines the place of Islam in the intellectual history of the European Enlightenment. In 1649, the English civil war resulted in the establishment of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell and the execution of King Charles I; in the same year, the first English translation of the Quran was published in London. For some royalists, the two events were linked: they both signalled the moral demise of the kingdom, and indeed some polemicists depicted Cromwell as a ‘new Mahomet’ seeking to gain power by attacking the moral and religious foundations of the nation. Authors writing in English, such as Henry Stubbe, John Toland and George Sale, embraced the comparison, presenting the Muslim prophet as a reformer who preached pure monotheism and who abolished the powers of a corrupt clergy. They used the prophet and Islam to argue for the curtailing of the power of the Anglican Church; 18th-century French authors similarly lionised him as a polemical tool against the Catholic church. Muhammad, seen as an imposter or a reformer, was at the centre of European debates on the proper relations between Church, Crown and people. The article arises from a British Academy Lecture delivered on 18 May 2023.

Integrasi Nilai-Nilai Karakter Dalam Pembelajaran Pendidikan Jasmani, Olahraga, Dan Kesehatan (PJOK) Di Jenjang Sekolah Dasar

Character education is a fundamental element in the educational process, especially at the elementary school level where students are at the critical stage of forming values ​​and principles. At this age, students are experiencing rapid physical, mental, emotional and social development. Therefore, character education is very important to help students build strong moral and social foundations. In the context of Physical Education, Sports and Health (PJOK) subjects, the integration of character values ​​not only enriches the curriculum but also strengthens students' moral and social foundations. PJOK's diverse and dynamic activities, such as games, sports and other physical activities, provide an ideal platform for instilling important values ​​such as honesty, discipline, cooperation, responsibility and sportsmanship. Through a systematic and reflective approach, this research identifies effective methods for integrating these values ​​into daily PJOK activities. This includes developing a curriculum designed to promote positive social interactions, increased self-awareness, and appreciation for diversity and inclusion. For example, in team games, students can learn about cooperation, communication, and mutual respect. In individual activities, students can develop self-discipline, responsibility, and sportsmanship. Additionally, teachers can facilitate reflective discussions after activities to help students understand and internalize the values ​​they have put into practice. By systematically integrating character education in PJOK subjects, this research aims to help students not only develop physical abilities, but also build strong character, which will be the foundation for their future development. And thus, PJOK learning does not only focus on physical development but also on strengthening character, which ultimately forms students who are holistically healthy - both physically and socially-emotionally. This research provides new insights into the potential of PJOK learning as a tool for character education, offers concrete strategies for educators to implement these values ​​effectively, and highlights the importance of integrated character education in the elementary school curriculum.

Dancing with Buber: an autoethnographic study of inclusion and disability and its ethical foundations

ABSTRACT This autoethnographic study with critical friends explores a teacher’s - commitment to inclusive education in the context of disability. Decades of global developments, advocacy, academic research and legislation to protect the rights of people with disabilities and ensure access to equal education opportunities, whilst reassuring, reveal undeniable challenges and struggles. There is a clear lack of attention to the situatedness and ethical basis of inclusive practices. In this article, we examine the professional practice and pedagogical understandings of the first author, a secondary school teacher, college in Victoria, Australia. Autoethnographic methodology allowed a personal interrogation of episodes of encountering disability and inclusion, as Author 1 explores examples from her own teaching practices. Martin Buber’s notion of ‘I and Thou’ fuels our reflections on the ethical and relational basis of teaching inclusively. Two vignettes reveal lived experiences, used as the ground for a fruitful dialogic exchange. These result in a set of reflexive pieces of writing from the first author and two colleagues. Findings suggest that the relational and ethical basis of educational practices in regard to disability and inclusion need to be re-examined in light of Buber’s relational category of I-Thou, which suggests focus on the person, rather than the label, ‘disability’.

Феномен социокультурных эффектов юридического образования (на примере исследования эффект-изменения и эффекта информационного взаимодействия образовательной среды)

Attention to the problem of studying the socio-cultural effects of legal education as a phenomenon that contributes to the formation of a law student’s personality is due to modern processes of transformation of social relations (a change in the attitude towards the spiritual and moral foundations and cultural and historical heritage of Russian society at the state level). The aim of the article is to identify and characterize the socio-cultural effects of legal education on the basis of the analysis of the specifics and capabilities of a law school in changing conditions. The article comprehensively studies the problem of socio-cultural adaptation of the younger generation in the conditions of higher education in law. The role of legal education in the socialization of a student’s personality provokes scientific interest. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it attempts to define the socio-cultural value of legal education as an effect of change and as an effect of informational interaction in the educational environment. As a result of the study, the specifics of socio-cultural aspects of legal education, a number of effects of socio-cultural interaction, such as effects of change, were identified; positive and negative effects of socio-cultural interaction in the educational information space were defined; in addition, basic manifestations of the socialization of a student’s personality were identified.

Neither Ethical nor Prudent: Why Not to Choose Normothermic Regional Perfusion.

In transplant medicine, the use of normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) in donation after circulatory determination of death raises ethical difficulties. NRP is objectionable because it restores the donor's circulation, thus invalidating a death declaration based on the permanent cessation of circulation. NRP's defenders respond with arguments that are tortuous and factually inaccurate and depend on introducing extraneous concepts into the law. However, results comparable to NRP's-more and higher-quality organs and more efficient allocation-can be achieved by removing organs from deceased donors and using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) to support the organs outside the body, without jeopardizing confidence in transplantation's legal and ethical foundations. Given the controversy that NRP generates and the convoluted justifications made for it, we recommend a prudential approach we call "ethical parsimony," which holds that, in the choice between competing means of achieving a result, the ethically simpler one is to be preferred. This approach makes clear that policy-makers should favor NMP over NRP.

Building on the EU’s unique strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI): can an ethical foundation be successfully integrated into its design and deployment?

In this article, the Author investigates the ethical principles espoused by the European Union’s (EU) policies on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and discuss their effectiveness in providing an ethical foundation for the entire process of developing and deploying AI in Europe. To this end, the scope of the term “ethics” in the regulatory process is analysed, and the extent to which ambiguity about its meaning can contribute to inadequate policies, is considered. The Author also addresses the criticisms and suggestions that have been made regarding the use of certain concepts, such as ‘trustworthiness’ and ‘human-centric’, which are so often used in European AI guidelines. The aim of the article is to explore the ways in which ethical values have been applied and identify potential areas of improvement to further safeguard and advance the rule of law, human rights, and democracy in the EU. This quest proves to be relevant amidst the various challenges that arise from emerging technologies like AI, which are of an unknown magnitude to our contemporary democracies, constituting a complete paradigm shift. In exploring the issues set out here, the Author navigates some of the new developments that the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) introduces, as well as the pressing criticisms levelled at it in the context of the overarching theme of this article.

Bioethics, Suffering, and the Culture Wars

This article provides an analysis of the enduring disagreements among bioethicists over the divide between secular and religious boundaries that are reflected in liberal, libertarian, and conservative approaches to medicine as a profession and vocation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the most authoritative voices to address the problem of suffering were Protestants, Strict Calvinists, hydropaths, and homeopaths. Other religious and medical groups had regularly confronted pain and suffering in the nineteenth century in light of the discovery and increasing use of anesthesia. Rationalizations for suffering were first and foremost indebted to strong beliefs about divine will and about the seemingly inevitable course of nature. Did physical pain reflect the wrongdoing of one individual or of an entire community? What was the appropriate way to respond to the natural circumstances of growth, decay, and healing? Such questions produced a varied rhetoric of suffering that emerged in new ways in the second half of the twentieth century. Questions and concerns about the ethical foundations of medical practice—what should and should not be permitted—illustrate the present cultural struggles.

The Examination of Government Regulation Number 28 of 2022 From a Pancasila Point of View

Indonesia as a democratic country that emphasizes the rule of law as the main foundation, makes Pancasila as the moral and philosophical foundation for the constitution and laws and regulations. This research aims to evaluate the consistency of Government Regulation Number 28 Year 2022 on the Management of State Receivables with the principles of Pancasila, as well as to assess the extent to which its practical implementation reflects the moral and philosophical values of Pancasila. The method used in this research is juridical-normative with a conceptual and statutory approach, accompanied by qualitative descriptive analysis of relevant statutory documents and legal doctrine. The results of the analysis highlight the importance that Government Regulation No. 28 Year 2022 must comply with the existing legal hierarchy, as well as consistently reflect the principles of Pancasila as a moral and philosophical foundation in the regulation of state receivables. Nonetheless, the addition of new rules concerning liability for state receivables raises debates about consistency and social justice. Therefore, it is important for the government to ensure that the implementation of the rules not only considers the legal and financial aspects, but also the social and humanitarian impacts on the individuals involved. Success in regulating state receivables should be measured by the extent to which the principles of Pancasila are respected and social justice is realized in the process, which will help strengthen the foundations of democracy and the rule of law in Indonesia.

Human Resource Ethics and Professionalism: An Islamic Perspective

This paper explores the dimensions of ethics and professionalism in the context of human resources from the Islamic perspective. In its effort to delve deeper, this paper details the Islamic principles that guide ethical behavior and professionalism in human resources management. This understanding encompasses fundamental values such as justice, trustworthiness, and excellence, serving as the moral foundation for human resources practitioners grounded in Islam. A profound understanding of these principles not only provides a moral foundation for human resources practitioners but also has the potential to create a positive work environment. By applying these values, it is hoped that success, both at the individual and organizational levels, can be achieved while upholding the principles of Islamic ethics, thereby positively contributing to society as a whole. Keywords: human resource ethics, professionalism, Islamic principles

Taboos and Self-Censorship Among U.S. Psychology Professors.

We identify points of conflict and consensus regarding (a) controversial empirical claims and (b) normative preferences for how controversial scholarship-and scholars-should be treated. In 2021, we conducted qualitative interviews (n = 41) to generate a quantitative survey (N = 470) of U.S. psychology professors' beliefs and values. Professors strongly disagreed on the truth status of 10 candidate taboo conclusions: For each conclusion, some professors reported 100% certainty in its veracity and others 100% certainty in its falsehood. Professors more confident in the truth of the taboo conclusions reported more self-censorship, a pattern that could bias perceived scientific consensus regarding the inaccuracy of controversial conclusions. Almost all professors worried about social sanctions if they were to express their own empirical beliefs. Tenured professors reported as much self-censorship and as much fear of consequences as untenured professors, including fear of getting fired. Most professors opposed suppressing scholarship and punishing peers on the basis of moral concerns about research conclusions and reported contempt for peers who petition to retract papers on moral grounds. Younger, more left-leaning, and female faculty were generally more opposed to controversial scholarship. These results do not resolve empirical or normative disagreements among psychology professors, but they may provide an empirical context for their discussion.

Strategy and challenges of value-based intermediation implementation: the case of BIMB

Purpose The present study aims to evaluate the VBI strategies that have been implemented and to analyze the implementation challenges that BIMB has encountered. Design/methodology/approach A case study method was used to generate an in-depth and multi-faceted understanding of VBI strategy implementation in Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB). A semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted with BIMB which is among of the earliest members of the VBI Community of Practitioners (CoPs). The data were transcribed and analyzed based on the content and thematic analyses. Findings This paper provides insights into how Islamic bank, i.e. BIMB, implement initiatives and strategies for adopting VBI based on the four underpinning principles. VBI is seen as a continuous strategy implementation of what has been practiced in BIMB, for instance, the Sadaqah House initiative introduced in 2018. Research limitations/implications The primary limitation of the study is that it only focused on BIMB and does not represent the larger members of VBI CoPs among Islamic banks in Malaysia. A larger sample would have given more trustworthy results and could give better insights on the VBI implementation. Practical implications A good strategy implementation can be realized by generating a positive and sustainable economic, societal and environmental impact consistent with sustainable shareholder returns and long-term interests. The regulator should consider the policy implications of this study by strengthening the VBI and encouraging more Islamic and conventional banks to adopt it based on the findings. Originality/value The originality of this study is that it focuses on strategy implementation and the challenges facing Islamic bank toward VBI. It provides information on the implementation strategy of VBI in Islamic banks in Malaysia and facilitates other Islamic banking institutions, specifically future members of CoPs in creating a strong ethical foundation.

Varieties of Values: Moral Values Are Uniquely Divisive

Political scientists have long viewed values as a source of constraint in political belief systems. More recently, scholars have argued that values—particularly moral values—contribute to polarization. Yet, there is little direct and systematic research on which values are perceived as moral values. We examine 21 values, including Schwartz’s values, political values, and moral foundations. Drawing on a broad literature on cooperation, we first develop theoretical expectations for the extent of value moralization both between and within value systems. We next argue that this moralization matters because it intensifies the effects of value disagreement on social polarization. Using a probability-based survey of the US and an embedded conjoint experiment, we find substantial variation in moralization across values, and that highly moralized values are more polarizing. Our research brings together competing literatures on values and shows how moral values differentially shape polarization.

Moral foundations in autistic people and people with systemizing minds

BackgroundDo autistic people share the same moral foundations as typical people? Here we built on two prominent theories in psychology, moral foundations theory and the empathizing–systemizing (E–S) theory, to observe the nature of morality in autistic people and systemizers.MethodsIn dataset 1, we measured five foundations of moral judgements (Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity) measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) in autistic (n = 307) and typical people (n = 415) along with their scores on the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ). In dataset 2, we measured these same five foundations along with E–S cognitive types (previously referred to as “brain types”) in a large sample of typical people (N = 7595).ResultsAutistic people scored the same on Care (i.e., concern for others) as typical people (h1). Their affective empathy (but not their cognitive empathy) scores were positively correlated with Care. Autistic people were more likely to endorse Fairness (i.e., giving people what they are owed, and treating them with justice) over Care (h2). Their systemizing scores were positively correlated with Fairness. Autistic people or those with a systemizing cognitive profile had lower scores on binding foundations: Loyalty, Authority, and Sanctity (h3). Systemizing in typical people was positively correlated with Liberty (i.e., hypervigilance against oppression), which is a sixth moral foundation (h4). Although the majority of people in all five E–S cognitive types self-identified as liberal, with a skew towards empathizing (h5), the percentage of libertarians was highest in systemizing cognitive types (h6). E–S cognitive types accounted for 2 to 3 times more variance for Care than did sex.LimitationsOur study is limited by its reliance on self-report measures and a focus on moral judgements rather than behavior or decision-making. Further, only dataset 2 measured political identification, therefore we were unable to assess politics in autistic people.ConclusionsWe conclude that some moral foundations in autistic people are similar to those in typical people (despite the difficulties in social interaction that are part of autism), and some are subtly different. These subtle differences vary depending on empathizing and systemizing cognitive types.

How do NPOs’ topics and moral foundations in gun-related issues influence public engagement on Twitter?

PurposeDrawing on the moral foundations theory (MFT), we examine what nonprofit organizations (NPOs) discuss and how NPOs engage in gun-related issues on Twitter. Specifically, we explore latent topics and embedded moral values (i.e. care, fairness, loyalty, authority, and sanctity) in NPOs’ tweets and investigate the effects of the latent topics and moral values on invoking public engagement.Design/methodology/approachData were retrieved by the Twint Python and the rtweet R packages. Finally, 5,041 tweets posted by 679 NPOs were analyzed via unsupervised topic modeling and the extended moral foundations dictionary (eMFD). Negative binomial regression analysis was employed for statistical analysis.FindingsNPOs’ engagement in gun-related issues mainly focuses on laws and policies, calling for action and collaborations, and school safety. All five moral foundations are more salient in the cluster of laws and policies. When NPOs discuss the above-mentioned three topics, the public is less likely to like or retweet NPOs’ messages. In contrast, NPOs’ messages with the sanctity foundation are most likely to receive likes and retweets from the public. The fairness foundation interacts with Cluster 3 of school safety on the number of likes.Originality/valueThis study enhances the understanding of gun-related social media discussions by identifying the crucial involvement of NPOs as major stakeholders. In addition, our study enriches the existing literature on NPOs’ social media communication by including moral values and their moral-emotional effects on public engagement. Finally, our study validates the eMFD dictionary and broadens its applicability to gun-related topics.

The ethics of research informed consent from the Kyrgyz perspective: A qualitative study.

To ensure informed consent is tailored to ethnic Asian communities, it is necessary to establish an ethical foundation that is relevant to the specific populations. We hypothesized that certain communitarian factors unique to traditional Kyrgyz culture may influence an individual's decision to participate in research. Guided by Seedhouse's (2005) Rational Field Theory, we conducted qualitative, in-depth interviews with cultural experts in Kyrgyzstan to identify the ethical foundations of decision-making for informed consent in Kyrgyz culture. The results indicate that Kyrgyz people have a distinctive decision-making style influenced by their nomadic culture and history, which values and prioritizes family integrity and reputation. These findings indicate that a multidimensional approach based on socio-cultural sensitivities is necessary to assess the appropriateness of consent procedures. We believe our results may have implications for revising the guidelines of local and regional research ethics committees in Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries.

Should I Pay, Or Should I Quash? The Role of Governments’ Ideology in Ransom Payment

ABSTRACT Does governments’ ideology influence the likelihood of ransom payment? Despite a steady interest in hostage-taking events, this question remains unanswered. In this article, I argue that ideology contributes to explaining governments’ decisions to pay or not pay ransoms: guided by individualising moral foundations, left-leaning governments are more likely to concede to terrorists to save lives. I test the theoretical argument through a quantitative analysis of abductions between 1970 and 2020 whose victims are citizens of OECD member states. Two results stand out. The presence of leftist governments increases the likelihood of ransom payment, but the abduction of statesmen mitigates its impact. This work contributes to hostage-taking and Foreign Policy Analysis literature by covering an apparent gap in these fields. It also fosters studies on the role of ideology in security issues and moral dilemmas by focusing on a peculiar event that scholars have largely overlooked.

Societal preferences for granting orphan drugs special status in reimbursement decisions

BackgroundOrphan drugs, for patients with a rare disease, are increasingly available but often do not meet standard cost-effectiveness criteria for reimbursement. Consequently, policymakers regularly face the dilemma whether to relax these criteria for reimbursing orphan drugs. We examined whether—and why—there would be societal support for such differential treatment of orphan drugs. MethodsWe conducted a labelled discrete choice experiment in a sample of the adult population (n = 1,172) in the Netherlands. Respondents were presented with ten choices on whether to reimburse an orphan drug given that a non-orphan drug with similar characteristics would not be reimbursed, because it was not cost-effective, and asked to explain their choices. We used random-intercept logit regression models and inductive coding for analysing the quantitative and qualitative data. ResultsOf the respondents, 36.4% consistently chose for reimbursing the orphan drug, mostly because “everyone is entitled to live a healthy life and good quality healthcare”, and 17.3% consistently for not reimbursing the orphan drug, mostly because “[this] is unfair to patients with a common disease”. The remaining 46.3% made alternating choices and were more likely to choose for reimbursing orphan drugs when patients were aged between 1 and 70 years, had moderate disease severity, and considerable health gain from treatment. ConclusionsThis study finds considerable support but also strong preference heterogeneity amongst members of the public in the Netherlands for differential treatment of orphan drugs in reimbursement decisions, when these drugs do not meet common cost-effectiveness criteria. However, a substantial minority opposes differential treatment, mostly on moral grounds.