Moral Responsibility Research Articles

The Moral Economy of the Ugandan Crowd in 1945

Abstract In 1945, actions which have been understood as strikes against wartime inflation occurred across colonized Africa: this essay identifies a deeper motivation in the events which happened in the Uganda Protectorate in early 1945. An understanding that people had a moral responsibility to act, and leaders had a moral responsibility to see them, to listen, and to respond led from a mobilization of workers on town streets, to efforts to see wrongful deaths acknowledged, to gatherings in the courtyard of the Buganda king in which he was almost overthrown. In each of the three stages of the protest, Ugandans of different ethnicities asserted an ethic of mutual obligation which acknowledged no boundary between the political and the economic, spoke to authority with an expectation that they would be heard, and drew on enduring knowledge of politics as well as a range of new ideas to solve the problems they confronted.

Are Good Deeds Rewarded?—The Impact of Traditional Morality and Modern Responsibility on Green Innovation

The essence of intergenerational sustainability emphasizes the necessity of incorporating altruistic thinking and culture. While prior studies primarily examined corporate innovation strategies from a self-interested lens, this paper aims to investigate the drivers of corporate green innovation from an altruistic perspective. Analyzing a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2019, we employ both the OLS model and the mediation effect model to explore how traditional morality and modern responsibility impact corporate green innovation, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Our findings reveal that both traditional morality and modern responsibility significantly enhance corporate green management innovation, with social trust serving as a key mediating factor. Furthermore, traditional morality and modern responsibility play distinctive roles depending on the stage of economic development: traditional morality primarily influences green innovation in the early stages of economic development, whereas modern responsibility becomes more influential as development progresses. This study provides meaningful insights for research and practice in corporate sustainability, business ethics, and innovation strategy.

EMPATHY AND THE SCENES OF SPEECHES IN THE WRITINGS OF ANTÔNIO FRANCISCO MELLO, PE. MELLO

This article investigates the trajectory and intellectual legacy of Father Antônio Francisco de Mello, highlighting empathy in his speeches and his contributions to the historical and social context. Born in 1863, Mello addressed themes such as social justice and moral responsibility, encouraging ethical self-reflection. The analysis of his poems reveals three degrees of empathy: the experience of another person, the explanation that attributes meaning, and the objectification of the experience. The concept of ethos, based on Aristotle's Rhetoric, is central to the construction of the orator's image. The article also explores the discursive ethos according to Dominique Maingueneau, emphasizing the interaction between the ethos shown and said, in addition to the pre-discursive ethos. The research proposes a psychoanalytic analysis of the elements that influence the relationship between speaker and recipient.

Compatibilism and Truly Minimal Morality

Abstract I formulate a compatibilism that is distinctively responsive to skeptical worries about the justification of punishment and other moral responsibility practices. I begin with an evolutionary story explaining why backward-looking reactive attitudes are “given” in human society. Cooperative society plausibly could not be sustained without such practices. The necessary accountability practices have complex internal standards. These internal standards may fully ground the appropriateness of reactive attitudes. Following a recent analogy, we can similarly hold that there are no external standards for what is funny; the norms of comedy are complex, but funny is funny. However, this is compatible with moral reasons to change the practices themselves, and therefore change what is fitting within them: in the first instance, a moralistic “that's not funny” is ill-fitting, but “that shouldn't be funny” can be apt. The analogous reformist position prescribes practices constituting the minimal responsibility norms necessary for cooperative society.

The Ethics of Social Media: Why Content Moderation is a Moral Duty

This article defends platforms’ moral responsibility to moderate wrongful speech posted by users. Several duties together ground and shape this responsibility. First, platforms have duties to defend others from harm when they can do so at reasonable cost. Second, platforms have a moral duty to avoid complicity with users’ wrongfully harmful or dangerous speech. I will argue that one can be complicit in wrongs committed by others by supplying them with a space in which they will foreseeably commit them. For platforms, proactive content moderation is required to avoid such complicity. Further, platforms have an especially stringent complicity-based duty not to amplify users’ wrongful speech, thereby increasing its harm or danger. Finally, platforms have a duty not to enable new wrongs by amplifying otherwise innocuous speech that becomes wrongfully harmful only through amplification. I close by considering an objection—that content moderation by platforms constitutes an objectionable form of private censorship—explaining how it can be answered.

Agency incompatibilism, luck, and intelligibility

ABSTRACT The problem of luck is one of the most formidable obstacles currently facing libertarian theories of free will. Some have argued that there is no problem, while others have argued that the problem is not a unique one for libertarians. Still others acknowledge the problem and aim to address it with their preferred libertarian theory. Steward (2012a) takes the latter strategy with her agency incompatibilism. She develops a version of the problem of present luck and argues that agents who possess a two-way power, which is a power to either perform some action or refrain from performing it, avoid the problem. If she is successful this would be a big point in favor of agency incompatibilism, and it could indicate a successful strategy for others to follow. I argue that just as Steward insists that we ought to move from more robust abilities to the ability to refrain, the proponent of the problem of luck can do the same, and, once doing so, they can posit a very similar luck objection to refraining. Moreover, I suggest that the ability to settle that Steward defends is not robust enough to ground moral responsibility.

Folk Intuitions About Free Will and Moral Responsibility: Evaluating the Combined Effects of Misunderstandings About Determinism and Motivated Cognition.

In this study, we conducted large-scale experiments with novel descriptions of determinism. Our goal was to investigate the effects of desires for punishment and comprehension errors on people's intuitions about free will and moral responsibility in deterministic scenarios. Previous research has acknowledged the influence of these factors, but their total effect has not been revealed. Using a large-scale survey of Japanese participants, we found that the failure to understand causal determination (intrusion) has limited effects relative to other factors and that the conflation of determinism and epiphenomenalism (bypassing) has a significant influence, even when controlling for other variables. This leads to the increased prevalence of incompatibilist responses. Furthermore, our results demonstrated a close association between the attribution of free will/responsibility and retributive desire. While further research is needed to establish the causal relationship between these factors, this association is consistent with Cory Clark and colleagues' study that increased desire contributes to increased compatibilist responses and their claim that a definitive intuition about free will may be elusive.

Temporal dynamics of implicit moral evaluation: from empathy for pain to mentalizing processes

To understand how we evaluate harm to others, it is crucial to consider the offender’s intent and the victim’s suffering. Previous research investigating event-related potentials (ERPs) during moral evaluation has been limited by small sample sizes and a priori selection of electrodes and time windows that may bias the results. To overcome these limitations, we examined ERPs in 66 healthy human adults using a data-driven analytic approach involving cluster-based permutation tests. Participants performed an implicit moral evaluation task requiring to observe scenarios depicting intentional harm (IHS), accidental harm (AHS), and neutral actions (NAS) while judging whether each scenario was set indoors or outdoors. Our results revealed two distinct clusters, peaking at ∼170 and ∼250 ms, showing differences between harm scenarios (IHS and AHS) and NAS, suggesting rapid processing of the victim’s physical outcome. The difference between IHS and AHS scenarios emerged later, at ∼400 ms, potentially reflecting subsequent evaluation of the agent’s intentions. Source analysis showed that brain regions associated with empathy for pain were associated with the earlier peaks at ∼170 and ∼250 ms, while the modulation of the activity of the mentalizing network was presented at ∼250 and ∼400 ms. These findings advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying implicit moral evaluation. Notably, they provide electrocortical new insights for models of implicit moral evaluation, suggesting an early neural response linked to empathy for pain, with subsequent integration of empathy response with mentalizing processes, followed by later cognitive evaluations, likely reflecting the assessment of the agent’s moral responsibility.

Robots in Agriculture – A case-based discussion of ethical concerns on job loss, responsibility, and data control

There is a growing interest in using robots in agriculture due to increasing challenges of labour scarcity and cost. Field robots are expected to help overcome these challenges and to contribute to financial, environmental and social sustainability. However, socially responsible introduction of field crop robots will require awareness and consideration of ethical trade-offs by stakeholders including farmers, regulators, and manufacturers. In this article we discuss the ethical themes of job loss, moral responsibility, and data control in light of the results of sixteen interviews with key stakeholders conducted in 2022 under a European research project named Robs4crops.

Carbon offset payment intentions in aviation industry: Altruism vs. Egoism and airline sustainability

Purpose The issue of excessive carbon emissions continues to be a critical global challenge. As a prominent mode of transportation for long-distance travel, aircraft is widely acknowledged as a significant source of these emissions. Carbon offset initiatives function as ecological measures, helping to reduce the negative environmental impact. This study aims to explore how benefit appeals (BA) within the aviation industry impact tourists’ carbon offset payment intentions (COPIt). Design/methodology/approach In Studies 1 and 2, scenario-based experiments were conducted to explore how goal framing (GF) and (BA) interact to influence COPIt. Study 2 further investigated the mediating roles of moral responsibility and trust in airlines within this interaction. Study 3 used real-world surveys to examine the moderating influence of moral elevation, thereby supporting the interactive effects and mediation mechanisms identified in the earlier studies. Findings Across three studies, the authors consistently identified pivotal factors shaping COPIt in the context of air travel. Study 1 revealed that the combination of BA and GF significantly impacts COPIt, with egoistic appeals linked to loss framing and altruistic appeals connected to gain framing being particularly effective in encouraging COPIt. Study 2 extended these insights by showing that moral responsibility and trust in airlines serve as mediators between BA, GF and COPIt. In Study 3, moral elevation was found to moderate the influence of BA and GF on both moral responsibility and COPIt, deepening the understanding of these dynamics. Originality/value This study expands the range of factors affecting COPIt and delves into the underlying mechanisms through which BA and GF shape COPIt. Additionally, it advances current understanding by revealing the intricate processes influenced by moral elevation. The findings not only contribute to the existing knowledge on COPIt determinants but also offer practical guidance for the aviation industry and related sectors in promoting tourists’ participation in carbon offset programs.

Degree of Causal Contribution and Degree of Moral Responsibility: Using Shapley Values as a Measure

This paper is about the pros and cons of measuring degree of causal contribution by Shapley Value (a concept from cooperative game theory). The Shapley Value approach defines degree of causal contribution for a causal factor in terms of a kind of average of its marginal contributions across a range of possible groupings of factors. Some existing literature already explores applying Shapley Values to degrees of causal contributions. This paper supplements this literature by evaluating a range of justifications for applying Shapley Values, addressing several potential problems for the Shapley Value approach, and tying this to recent discussions of the tension between degree of sufficiency and degree of necessity originating with Bernstein.

Disposisi, Kehendak Bebas, dan Kontingensi

This article discusses the long-standing philosophical challenge of integrating disposition, free will, and contingency. We place the above three realities into a coherent theoretical framework. Various disciplines have extensively studied the concepts of disposition, free will, and contingency. Nevertheless, their complex interrelationships still need to be more adequately explored. The result is a persistent dichotomy that gives rise to debates about causation, agency, and the reality of modalities. Thus, this article proposes a new framework called triadic relations to explain the mutual dependencies and emergent properties of the interaction of these fundamental ideas. The article uses a systematic synthesis approach of recent developments in dispositional essentialism, compatibilist theories of free will, and the metaphysics of the modal. We aim to show how dispositions provide the ontological foundation for free will and contingent possibilities. After all, free will operation actualizes specific potentials and introduces original novelty. This method offers an exciting resolution to the compatibilist libertarian debate by providing a new perspective on mental causation, moral responsibility, and the nature of contingency. Our findings suggest a dynamic ontology that transcends traditional philosophical categories. The findings redefine metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, and interdisciplinary areas. Triadic relations emerge as a new paradigm for reconceptualizing the structure of reality and human agency to reshape the landscape of philosophical inquiry.

Education’s primary motive of overall human development in India: Case based perspective of Dayalbagh Educational Institute

The Indian higher education system faces significant challenges in integrating value-based education, sustainability, and consciousness, often prioritizing academic achievements over holistic development. This case-based research explores how Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI) effectively addresses these challenges by incorporating sustainability, value, and consciousness into its educational framework. DEI was selected for its distinctive approach, which emphasizes moral and social responsibility, fostering not only academic success but also the ethical development of students. The study draws on document analysis and observations to illustrate how DEI’s educational practices serve as a model for other institutions. The research underscores the urgent need for educational reforms in India that go beyond traditional metrics of success, addressing the gaps in moral education and sustainable practices. By fostering critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and social responsibility, DEI demonstrates how an education system can prepare students for future challenges while promoting a deeper consciousness about their role in society. The findings suggest that integrating value-based education with sustainability and consciousness not only enhances students’ holistic development but also contributes to broader goals of national development. DEI’s model offers practical insights and evidence for other educational institutions to adopt similar strategies, ensuring that future generations are better equipped to address societal challenges with a strong ethical foundation. This research thus provides a comprehensive view of the essential elements needed in modern education to create responsible and conscious global citizens.

Autistic SPACE(S) in Social Work

Social work has a vital role to play in supporting Autistic people of all ages. Whether in facilitating access to other services, such as housing, enhancing quality of life, or in a safeguarding capacity, social workers have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure their practice ensures full, equitable involvement of Autistic people. Regrettably, research evidence indicates practice is not always inclusive and can fall short in responding effectively to Autistic people’s needs. This article adds to recent UK practice guidance and social work scholarship concerning social work and autism. It does so by introducing a framework developed by Autistic doctors for meeting Autistic people’s needs in medical settings known as ‘Autistic SPACE’ and exploring how it could be used for social work contexts. The five core autistic needs recognised in the SPACE framework are addressed, i.e. Sensory, Predictability, Acceptance, Communication and Empathy. How a practice-near social work perspective may aid in developing the framework further is also considered, extending the acronym from SPACE to SPACES to highlight the significance of Social Safety and Support.

Scaffolding Bad Moral Agents

AbstractRecent work on ecological accounts of moral responsibility and agency have argued for the importance of social environments for moral reasons responsiveness. Moral audiences can scaffold individual agents’ sensitivity to moral reasons and their motivation to act on them, but they can also undermine it. In this paper, we look at two case studies of ‘scaffolding bad’, where moral agency is undermined by social environments: street gangs and online incel communities. In discussing these case studies, we draw both on recent situated cognition literature and on scaffolded responsibility theory. We show that the way individuals are embedded into a specific social environment changes the moral considerations they are sensitive to in systematic ways because of the way these environments scaffold affective and cognitive processes, specifically those that concern the perception and treatment of ingroups and outgroups. We argue that gangs undermine reasons responsiveness to a greater extent than incel communities because gang members are more thoroughly immersed in the gang environment.

Posthuman Ethics and Distributed Agency in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun

This article discusses posthuman ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun by employing the concept of distributed agency. By examining the AI protagonist Klara, the study argues that Ishiguro redefines agency as a networked phenomenon involving both human and non-human actors, challenging traditional anthropocentric ethical frameworks. The novel suggests that ethical considerations in a posthuman world must account for this distributed agency, where human and AI entities co-create ethical dynamics. This study concludes that Ishiguro’s work not only critiques the limitations of human-centered ethics but also prompts a reevaluation of moral responsibility in a technologically mediated world. By positioning Klara and the Sun within the discourse of posthuman ethics, the article contributes to contemporary discussions on the ethical implications of AI and the evolving nature of agency.

Resistance for Disrupting Inequities and Fostering Social Justice in Nursing: A Discussion.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual overview of resistance and argue for the need to embrace resistance as a part of nurses' professional repertoire for disrupting inequities and fostering social justice in both nursing education and practice. Discursive article. Published peer reviewed literature on 'resistance' and 'professional resistance' in nursing, medicine, social work and other allied health care professions. Enhancing critical consciousness and engaging in intersectional collaboration are promising strategies to embrace resistance for collective action towards disrupting inequities and injustices in nursing education and practice. Embracing and legitimising resistance in everyday individual and social interactions in educational and practice settings is instrumental to fostering social justice in nursing. Without resistance, nurses may risk jeopardising enactment of moral and ethical responsibilities and suppressing their professional values of caring and compassion. Nurses can embrace resistance in practice to counteract social injustice and promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and antiracism in clinical and educational settings. Research demonstrated that perceived and real inequities and injustices are common in nursing in the form of individual and structural racism, sex and gender discrimination, power imbalances and incivility. Nurses' engagement in resistance and increased capacity to resist injustices and incivilities can play an instrumental role in disrupting professional inequities in clinical practice and education. There was no patient or public involvement in the design or writing of this discursive article.

TƏLƏBƏLƏRİN UNİVERSİTET HƏYATINA UYĞUNLAŞMASINDA ALİ MƏKTƏB MÜƏLLİMİNİN PEDAQOJİ MƏDƏNİYYƏTİNİN ƏHƏMİYYƏTİ

When a person suddenly enters a new life that he does not know, it is both very exciting and difficult for him. A young student who has just arrived at the university experiences very mixed emotions. It is both joyful and meets new friends, new subjects, teachers and a new learning process. The article exam¬ines the relationship between the teacher's pedagogical culture and the process of students' adaptation to the conditions of the teaching process in the higher school; At the same time, the essence and content of the con¬cepts of "adaptation" and "pedagogical skill" are revealed. The pedagogical skill of a high school teacher is considered as a complex system consisting of many interconnected components, among which the teacher's personal qualities, special pedagogical ability, high organizational culture and, most importantly, deep pro¬fessional knowledge occupy an important place. Also, the article describes a whole set of contradictions in the educational process of the higher education institution and provides a place for their elimination. Due to the elimination of these conflicts, adaptation of students to the educational process can happen easily. The research also characterizes the main distinguishing features of the management of the educational process and the issues that contribute to the establishment of productive pedagogical communication between the participants of the educational process. A humanistic style of pedagogical communication is impossible without personal qualities such as humanism and intelligence, high moral culture and responsibility. In the article, the results of the survey conducted with the students of Nakhchivan State University were analyzed and presented.

Attributing Responsibility to Big Tech for Mass Atrocity: Social Media and Transitional Justice

Big Tech companies such as Meta, the owner of Facebook, are increasingly accused of enabling human rights violations. The proliferation of toxic speech in their digital platforms has been in the background of recent episodes of mass atrocity, the most salient of which recently transpired in Myanmar and Ethiopia. The involvement of Big Tech companies in mass atrocity raises multiple normative and conceptual challenges. One is to properly conceptualize Meta’s responsibility for the circulation of toxic speech. On one view, endorsed by the corporation itself, Meta can be absolved from any significant share of responsibility for these atrocities because toxic speech is the speech of some (rogue) users, hosted but neither created nor endorsed by the company; if anything, Meta is responsible for failing to anticipate and swiftly remove that speech. I will argue that this view is misleading, as it misses the underlying forces crafting toxic speech. Meta’s business model relies on what one might call the algorithmic capture of attention, which it achieves by manipulating its users and by creating an environment in which manipulative practices of some users thrive over others. This fact alone turns the company into a co-creator of toxic speech rather than a mere conduit of the toxic speech of others. As a result, it is safe to claim that Meta bears significant causal responsibility and sufficient moral responsibility for the dissemination of toxic speech, such that it justifies its inclusion in transitional justice processes and grounds its moral obligation to act in ways that advance these processes.

Colônias e responsabilidade moral

Tradução de: W. E. B. Du Bois, "Colonies and moral responsibility", in The Journal of Negro Education , Summer, 1946, Vol. 15, No. 3, The Problem of Education in Dependent Territories (Summer, 1946), pp. 311-318.