Morality Research Articles

The attitude of the Bashkortostan clergy to spiritual and educational activities

The article examines spiritual and educational activities as one of the conditions for solving the strategic task of protecting traditional spiritual and moral values. Ministers (staff, volunteers) of religious organizations are considered as potential specialists in the field of spiritual and moral education. The Bashkortostan clergy expressed their attitude towards a new type of non-religious activity by taking part in a specially designed survey. The study showed that the clergy of the Republic of Bashkortostan, considering themselves as the carriers of spiritual and religious knowledge, are able to share their experience with parishioners. They are also ready to develop in the younger generation the skills of a religious way of understanding the world. Moreover, they are able to instill the values of religious doctrine, have experience in conducting educational events and reveal high readiness to conduct educational activities. But at the same time they understand that they are able to partially satisfy educational needs and interests in the field of religious cultures. The identified high need of the clergy for mastering spiritual and educational competencies leads the researcher to the conclusion that it is necessary to include a special course in the training of Orthodox and Muslim higher educational institutions, and, moreover, to develop a master’s program in “Spiritual and Moral Education.”

The Role of KKN-University of Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo Students in Boro Village to Improve Education in Children Through Various Activities Such as Fun Games, Finger Painting, and Spiritual Learning

The Integrated Community Service Program (KKN-T) of Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo in Boro Village aims to improve the quality of children's education through various creative and educational approaches. This program involves several key activities, such as fun games, finger painting, and spiritual learning, designed to develop children's cognitive, motor, and spiritual aspects. The fun games are aimed at enhancing children's social and motor skills, finger painting focuses on fostering creativity and fine motor skills, while spiritual learning is intended to strengthen their religious understanding and moral values. The method used is a participatory approach, where students collaborate directly with the local community in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the activities. The results of this program show increased participation and motivation of children in learning, both academically and non-academically

Professional codes of morality and the professional codes of conduct of military personnel in different countries

This article presents a study on moral codes and professional codes of conduct. Various professional codes of conduct were considered, including the Samurai Code of Conduct, Code of Chivalry, Pirate Code, Hippocratic Oath and Medical Oath, Red Cross Code of Conduct, Galilean Oath, Code of Apparel Industry Partnership, Ethics in Computer Programming and Software Development, Moral hacking. Special emphasis is placed on Military Ethics and the morale of the serviceman. The article recognizes the golden rule of global ethics as the most important and simple truth for distinguishing right from wrong in human behavior.

Bystanders’ Reactions to a Woman Victim of Sextortion: Moral Outrage, Victim Blaming and Reputational Damage

ABSTRACTSextortion is a scantly investigated crime in which entrusted authority is abused to obtain sex in exchange for a service or benefit. Based on the literature on gender violence, in the present research, we examined the role of moral evaluations of the victims in predicting potential bystanders’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards a woman who is a victim of a sextortion incident. In three experimental studies conducted with Italian participants (Study 1: n = 291; Study 2: n = 288; Study 3: n = 331), participants read a scenario describing a woman victim of sextortion and then rated the victim on moral outrage, moral evaluation, blame attribution, perceived reputational damage, and indicated their willingness to help her. The results highlighted that the victim was always perceived as less moral and more blameworthy when she caved into sextortion (vs. not). Furthermore, a sequential mediation model showed that, across all studies, caving into (vs. resisting) sextortion elicited stronger feelings of moral outrage towards the victim, as well as the perception of lower morality, which, in turn, reduced the willingness to offer help. In Study 3, this pattern was significant only when the woman reported the incident 1 year later (vs. 1 week). Current findings show that the peculiar transactional nature of sexual abuse makes sextortion victims appear to be complicit in the act. Thus, recognising the power dynamics through which sextortion can be used to exploit and abuse individuals is paramount to avoid secondary victimisation.

<span><strong>Investigating</strong><strong> Vietnamese EFL high school teachers’ attitudes toward teaching moral values </strong></span>

Families, schools, and society in Vietnam are paying more attention to moral education. The current national general education program, in particular, strives to promote students’ knowledge, skills, and moral qualities in order to better prepare them for globalization in the twenty-first century. It also mandates all educators, teachers integrate moral values into the curricula and lessons. This study aims to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards teaching moral values in various high schools. Twenty-one Vietnamese EFL high school teachers from a province in the Mekong Delta participated in the study. Data were collected from a Google-Form survey comprising 14 closed and open-ended questions based on van Aalderen-Smeets et al.’s (2012) and Ualesi and Ward’s (2018) multi-dimensional framework. The findings showed the participants’ positive attitudes toward teaching moral values, and there was almost no significant difference in the attitudes of teachers regarding gender, level of education, and teaching contexts. However, the findings revealed that approximately 81 % of the respondents encountered difficulties when infusing moral values into EFL teaching, primarily relating to teachers’ perceptions and contextual factors. Based on the findings, some conclusions and pedagogical recommendations have been made.

Catalysing Action and Transdisciplinary Pathways towards Sustainable Transitions

Prelude – Special Issue Motivation The year 2023 marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, the Scottish economist whose work has impacted how we think about economic principles and the dynamics implied in politics, business, and society. Known for his seminal work “The Wealth of Nations” published in 1776, Smith argued for an economic system with little unnecessary government interference. A model built on the division of labor, guided by an ‘invisible hand’, is part of the argument for free markets directed through price mechanisms and the moral conscience of self-interested people to achieve outcomes that benefit society (Stevens, 2023). Smith’s intention to articulate a liberal economic model that prioritized contributing positively to society's welfare1 however, stands in contrast to 20th-century business doctrine, which asserted that ‘their sole social responsibility was to generate as much profit as possible for their stockholders’ (Friedman, 1962, p. 133). (Continues, please read PDF)

Poetry and Living in Two Voices. Ana Blandiana and Ileana Mălăncioiu

Ana Blandiana feels, with unrelenting pain, the powerlessness to discern the limits of good and evil, to decribe moral values with sufficient rigour, to discern that unstable, hairline border that separates moral extremes. Out of this suffering, clearly expressed in melancholic-austere verses, the poet's gnoseological and ontological intransigence is reborn, summing up a conception of clear colours, unequivocal forms, inviolable and firm values; the dynamics of the poetic images is based on the antinomic tension between the cognisable and the unknowable, between thought and word, between the uncreated and the created, all these oppositions expressing, of course, the need to clarify ethical notions, to translate the moral will into the reality of the unequivocal materialised option. Some of Ilena Mălăncioiu's poems suggest mythologies made up of mysteries and archetypal guilt, of disturbing phantasms and figures of the shadow, the nothingness or the melancholic funereal, sublimated in a rhetoric of fear, of the fall, of the decline into the ephemerality of things, or into the labyrinth of the sensorial, the grim geography of the imaginary coming from acute perceptions of suffering, of the torments of history and the annihilation of being. Important voices of contemporary women's poetry, Ana Blandiana and Ileana Mălăncioiu essentialize their suffering in sharp verses, which repudiate any seduction, delusion or illusion, in a lyric that refuses ornamentation, stylistic pampering or aestheticizing narcosis, in favour of the ultimate and essential truth of being.

A qualitative study on perceptions of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health education in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is contentious due to societal and religious taboos in the Javanese Muslim community and being misunderstood as a potential catalyst for the premarital sex of unmarried adolescents. The existing practice of SRH education cannot guarantee reliable information about adolescent sexuality. The research aims to understand the intergenerational perception of SRH education conducted at high schools, which has not been comprehensively researched. This qualitative study was conducted in 2016 to explore the perspectives of adults and adolescents regarding school-based SRH education. Focus group discussions and individual interviews were used for data collection, while data analysis was conducted using a feminist perspective. The study identified gaps in the delivery of SRH education among Javanese Muslim, Indonesia. SRH education had not adequately addressed how adults and adolescents perceived sexuality as taboo due to moral panic about premarital sex and societal expectations placed on girls to maintain their virginity. Peer counsellors, responsible for imparting SRH information and facilitating communication with adolescents, reproduced adult moral values toward their peers, leading to a reluctance among adolescents to share their issues. Consequently, SRH education failed to reach those experiencing unwanted pregnancy or a toxic intimate relationship. The results of the study indicate the need to challenge intergenerational perceptions regarding sexuality and gender expectations to promote a positive gender perspective within SRH education in Indonesia.

ALTERNATIVE PROFIT-SHARING SYSTEM IN THE MUDHARABA SCHEME IN SHARIA BANKING PERSPECTIVE M. BAQIR AL-SADR

The profit-sharing system with a mudharaba scheme is an early concept of Islamic banking. However, mudharaba is starting to be abandoned by customers and sharia banks because it carries high risks. This research will discuss Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr's thoughts on the profit-sharing system in the mudharaba scheme. The method used is descriptive qualitative by taking primary data sources in the form of a book written directly by al-Sadr entitled: Al-Bank al-Laribawi fi al-Islam. This research found several results, namely: (1) the profit-sharing system in al-Sadr's version of the mudharaba scheme is different from the mudharaba concept in general. This research further shows al-Sadr's prominence in the field of sharia economics, because al-Sadr also has an original concept about Islamic banking. (2) This research found that al-Sadr's thoughts have significance for efforts to develop sharia banking in the future, especially regarding strengthening moral values in the relationship between sharia banks and customers. (3) This research further shows al-Sadr's prominence in the field of sharia economics, because al-Sadr also has an original concept about Islamic banking.

The Role of Education in Economic Development: A Comparative Study of Nigeria and Kenya.

Education is a transforming factor in economic growth because it gives people the information and skills that spur innovation, productivity, and general social advancement. Two of the biggest economies in Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, have made considerable changes to their educational institutions to promote economic expansion. But even with these reforms, obstacles including poor infrastructure, restricted access, and insufficient government money still stand in the way of development. This study examines how education affects economic growth in Kenya and Nigeria, paying particular attention to how the distinct political, cultural, and historical backgrounds of each nation affect educational achievements. This study highlights opportunities for improvement while identifying important educational policies and initiatives that have successfully supported economic growth through a comparative analysis. It considers the larger implications of education as an instrument for national transformation, drawing on theological viewpoints, and makes the case that real growth must be in line with moral and ethical principles. In the end, the research suggests a more integrated strategy, stressing that education may act as a catalyst for long-term, sustainable economic growth when it is in line with spiritual principles.

State policy of sustainable development on the basis of the "green economy"

The article deals with issues of the state policy of sustainable development based on the principles of «green economy». The transition to sustainable development is a process of changing the value orientations of many people. The internationally recognized fundamental values of development are freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, and shared responsibility. It was determined that the national goals of sustainable development are based on political, economic, social, ecological, moral and cultural values inherent in Ukrainian society. They determine the focus of the strategy on caring for the common good and protecting the national interests of Ukraine. Radical changes related to today’s problems and the course towards European integration make it possible to build a new Ukraine based on the principles of sustainable development, rule of law, protection of human rights, democracy, solidarity, and proper governance. It was emphasized that the strategic vision of sustainable development of Ukraine is based on ensuring national interests and fulfilling Ukraine’s international obligations regarding the transition to sustainable development. Such development involves: overcoming imbalances in the economic, social and environmental spheres; building a peaceful and safe, socially cohesive society with good governance and inclusive institutions; transformation of economic activity, transition to the principles of «green economy», etc. A «green economy» can be defined as one that increases people’s well-being and ensures social justice, while significantly reducing risks to the environment and increasing poverty. Attention was drawn to the Recovery Plan of Ukraine (2022) and the main priorities were determined, namely the acceleration of the implementation of the European Green Agreement thanks to the development of low-carbon energy and the existing energy infrastructure and the possibility of green exports; availability of electricity at a price below the European price with a significant share of «green» energy; support for the transition to energy with zero carbon emissions: development of carbon-free energy (nuclear), increase in gas and biofuel production, development of the ecosystem; regulation of green tariffs; promoting the transition of the agro-food sector to «green» growth; removal of technical barriers to the integration of Ukrainian manufacturers into the Single European Green Market, in particular, by spreading the necessary certification procedures and confirmation of compliance, increasing the level of awareness of manufacturers in this area, supporting manufacturers of ecologically better products, expanding the capacity of Ukrainian manufacturers to participate in «green» (energy­efficient, sustainable) public procurement, etc.

The Church in the Public Space: Lessons from the Exodus Church in Jürgen Moltmann’s Theology of Hope

The ecclesial community's call to duty and ability to carry out its mission is centered on how relevant it must become to the existential realities of those living in the public sphere. Jürgen Moltmann makes what can only be considered as a concise statement when he states that, to make Christianity accessible to the masses, theology must openly uphold the universal concerns of God's coming Kingdom. The church, following its own faith principles, must demonstrate "general concern in the light of hope in Christ for the kingdom of God" by becoming "political in the name of the poor and the marginalized in a given society, by thinking critically about the religious and moral values of the societies in which it exists." Christian theology continues to be the mouthpiece of the church. This article's goal is to discuss Jürgen Moltmann's straightforward explanation of the church's public relevance in helping people remember why it exists in all forms of human sociality. This article's reflections aim to highlight the fact that the Christian church can only be seen to be fulfilling its mission when it is perceived as the voice of the voiceless, bringing God's fullness to human flourishing, and providing true meaning to human tranquillity in a difficult and uncertain world.

Reassessing ayahuasca regulation in Brazil: strategic framing and cumulative gains

Background In the early twentieth century, ayahuasca gained popularity in northern Brazil, causing political tension due to moral hostility. However, over the course of the century, despite the proscription of DMT and the intensification of the ‘War on Drugs’, three phases of cumulative political gains eventually led to the full regulation of ayahuasca, in 2010. How was this achieved? Methods This paper provides a comprehensive reassessment of the existing literature on ayahuasca in Brazil, utilizing social movement theory. Emphasis is placed on framing methods, or how movements strategically present their aims to particular audiences, in order to effect political change. Results First, ayahuasca churches constructed a religious frame that emphasized their Christian pedigree. Second, when harassment intensified, ayahuasca was reframed as a charitable endeavour. Finally, in the transition to democracy, the religions added a scientific frame, collaborating with the state to review scientific evidence and establish policy parameters for regulation. Conclusion Framing ayahuasca as Christian and focusing on charity and science were neither straightforward nor unproblematic, but did allow ayahuasca groups to successfully avoid persecution, establish relationships with powerful actors, and eventually achieve full regulation. This case study provides unique insights into the role of social movements in successful drug policy reform, especially how movements can strategically adapt to and influence prevailing moral codes, resulting in concrete political victories.

Moral Values in Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl

The aim of this study is to depict the moral values of Susan Caraway that turns into the name of Stargirl in Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl. Susan Caraway is a school student who wants to get popularity by the name of Stargirl. Though she gets her dream of being popular, yet, she shows her moral values to her friends. Using a qualitative descriptive method and descriptive and dramatic method as well as Robert Audi’s theory of moral values, and by explaining the main character’s moral values, quoting the related quotation in the novel about the moral values, and analyzing the quotation related to the theory, then the researcher herself as the instrument of the study finds that Susan Caraway shows her moral values such as beneficence, honesty, and gratitude. Beneficence, then, is separated into having positive thinking, being responsible, and having self-control. Honesty is performed in the form of not being a lier, whilst, gratitude is performed in the form of appreciation other’s goodness.

A Typology of Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Prosocial Decisions

This theoretical article summarizes the various psychological and motivational processes that underlie prosocial decision-making. To this aim, we propose a novel way to organize and synthesize research related to emotions, thoughts, and beliefs (i.e., psychological mechanisms) that motivate or demotivate human prosociality. This is done with a new typology including four overarching interrelated categories, each encompassing multiple subcategories: (a) emotions; (b) moral principles; (c) anticipated impact; and (d) anticipated personal consequences. We highlight differences and commonalities to other influential frameworks and showcase how the proposed typology can help researchers and practitioners better differentiate and understand the diverse psychological mechanisms that underlie human prosociality.

BIMBINGAN AKHLAK REMAJA DAN PENINGKATAN MORAL DI DESA JAYASAMPURNA

Guidance on teenage morality is an educational program designed to strengthen moral values and ethics in the daily lives of teenagers. The program aims to help teenagers develop awareness of moral norms and reinforce positive character and behavior. Implemented in Desa Jayasampura, this program involves active interaction between facilitators and teenagers, focusing on the moral situations and challenges faced by teenagers in their local environment. Through a participatory approach and group activities, teenagers are encouraged to understand the concepts of morality in Islam and how to apply them in their daily lives. Moral guidance includes discussions on integrity, responsibility, empathy, and respect for oneself and others. Practical activities such as discussions, role-playing games, and community-based projects are used to engage teenagers in the learning process. Evaluation of this program will be conducted by measuring changes in attitudes, knowledge, and behavior of teenagers before and after participating in moral guidance. The results of this evaluation are expected to provide a better understanding of the program's effectiveness in increasing moral awareness and strengthening ethical values among teenagers at the local level. Thus, it is hoped that this program will make a positive contribution to shaping the character and morality of teenagers in Desa Jayasampurna.

Tipping the balance between fairness and efficiency through temporoparietal stimulation

Maximizing the welfare of society requires distributing goods between groups of people with different preferences. Such decisions are difficult because different moral principles impose irreconcilable solutions. For example, utilitarian efficiency (maximize overall outcome across individuals) may need trade-off against Rawlsian fairness norms (maximize the outcome for the worst-off individual). We identify a brain mechanism enabling decision-makers to solve such trade-offs between efficiency and fairness using separate neuroimaging and sham-controlled brain stimulation experiments. As activity in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) increases, people are more likely to implement the Rawlsian fairness criterion rather than efficiency or inequality concerns. Strikingly, reducing TPJ excitability with brain stimulation reduces the concern for fairness in fairness-efficiency trade-offs. Moreover, the reduced fairness concerns statistically relate to stimulation-induced reductions in perspective-taking skills as measured in a separate task. Together, our findings not only reveal the neural underpinning of efficiency-fairness trade-offs but also recast the role of TPJ in social decision-making by showing that its perspective-taking function serves to promote fairness for the worst-off rather than efficiency or equality.

Keynes and the Long Run — to ‘Live Wisely and Agreeably and Well’

ABSTRACT This paper revisits Keynes’s essay titled ‘The economic possibilities for our grandchildren’, featuring Keynes both as a growth theorist and a moral and social philosopher of capitalism. We discuss the three broader trends identified by Keynes that he expected would come to characterize the socio-economic evolution of advanced countries under capitalism: first, continued technological progress and capital accumulation as the main drivers of exponential growth in economic possibilities; second, a gradual general rebalancing of life choices away from work; and third, a change in the code of morals in societies approaching an envisioned stationary state of zero net capital accumulation in which mankind has solved its economic problem and enjoys a lifestyle predominantly framed by leisure rather than disutility-yielding work. We assess actual outcomes by 2024 and attempt to peek into the future economic possibilities for this generation’s grandchildren.

Citizens as lawmakers: legal innovation and the competing moralities of environmental juridification

ABSTRACT Law has increasingly become a relevant political language and a field of political contestation for citizens. In the context of socioenvironmental disputes, citizens have appealed to the courts or become involved in lawmaking as means of asserting their rights and worldviews. Such citizen engagements with law, I argue, amount to a form of worldmaking, as they allow for the introduction of situated moral values that challenge existing notions, rooted in liberal legality, about the environment, development, and sovereignty. This article explores this argument through the prism of the twelve-year long citizen opposition to mining in El Salvador and citizen engagement with law that culminated in the country’s 2017 national ban on metal mining. It focuses on two processes of citizen-led legal experimentation: participation in a commercial arbitration dispute through two amicus curiae submissions and the production of several iterations of law drafts. The ethnographic research on which the article is based employed a networked methodology with a constellation of citizen actors whose engagements with law brought about the mining ban and articulated a set of alternative moral values.

Systematisation of Conceptual Approaches to Formation of Business Ethics in the Context of Legal Regulation of Entrepreneurial Activity

Introduction. In the frame of entrepreneurship development, promotion of business ethics becomes particularly important as a mechanism for business harmonization, ensuring legal equality, healthy competition and fair attitudes to consumers. However, the controversial approaches to defining the concept of “business ethics” and the multiple interpretations thereof prevent from boosting the global spread of business culture in the legal regulation framework. In this regard, the aim of the study is to systematise the conceptual approaches to substantiation and formation of business ethics in the context of legal regulation of entrepreneurial activity.Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the research includes the general and specific scientific methods. The methods of analysis, comparison and systematisation enable the study of the integral parts of business ethics to get deep understanding of this concept. By comparing different interpretations, the common grounds in the interdisciplinary approaches to substantiation of this concept are revealed. Systematisation fosters organisation of the legal and moral values into a single hierarchical structure that forms the essence of business ethics. The philosophical-juridical method reveals the interrelation of the philosophical approach contained in the entrepreneurial value reference points and the legislative norms of society.Results. The research has revealed a pattern of business ethics development in the context of global and national wellbeing. The hierarchical structure of business ethics has a top-down nature: the international level, the macro level and the micro level. Despite the influence of cultural specifics on the development of the moral value system, the formation of business culture should go in correlation with the norms of law and the needs of society, along with establishment of the corporate boundaries and general entrepreneurial principles. At the corporate level, the integration of business ethics into the enterprise strategy is beneficial for its image and reputation, and the efficiency lies in promotion of the socio-economic, legal and other aspects fostering creation of fair, sustainable and conscious business.Discussion and Conclusion. The concept of “business ethics” is studied in the various scientific contexts. Despite all differences in interpretation, the mechanism of forming the business ethics in the framework of entrepreneurial activity is uniform, it includes creation of the code of ethics, training in ethical principles, development of a system of incentives, elaboration of the methods of prevention and punishment. In various contexts, this mechanism is aimed at eliminating unlawful forms of competition, ensuring economic, social and legal security, increasing the level of responsibility and creating an efficient system of business values.