Moral Relevance Research Articles

Empirical Research and Recommendations for Moral Action: A Plea for the Transparent Reporting of Bridge Principles in Public Health Research

Abstract Academic publications of empirical public health research often entail recommendations for moral action that address practitioners and policy makers. These recommendations are regularly based on implicit moral judgments with the underlying reasons not explicitly stated. In this paper, we elaborate on the moral relevance of such judgments and the need to explain them in order to account for academic argumentation. We argue for an explicit reporting of bridge principles to increase the transparency of the reporting of public health research. The reporting of bridge principles can inform readers, support them in understanding the relationship between empirical and normative claims in a specific paper, and may pave new ways for the rigorous reporting of empirical research that has moral implications. Furthermore, it can be used to classify studies to systematically address the justification for their argumentation.

The Problem of Moral Agency: Prospects of the Sociological Approach in the Context of the “Moral Dyad” Theory

In the context of developing a new sociology of morality, the article examines such phenomena as moral agency and moral patiency, understood as an actor’s attributed ability to be seen as a subject or object of morally relevant actions. The authors analyze the concept of the “moral dyad” as the most popular general approach that addresses various aspects of attributing moral agency and patiency through mind ascription. We also examine the four key principles of the moral dyad concept: causing harm as a prerequisite for the moral relevance of the action, the inseparable link between mind ascription and moral agency/patiency, the phenomenon of moral typecasting, and the principle of the moral scheme’s completion being a necessity. Based on the criticisms of these basic principles, we consider the prospects for further research in the field of studying these moral qualities of actors of various types. For this purpose, we identify and discuss three key problems of the concept of the “moral dyad”, which, as we argue, should be addressed from a sociological perspective: explaining the moral status of actors in the case of pro-social actions, as well as the moral status of collective (groups, corporations, states, institutions) and non-human (robots, computer algorithms) actors. In conclusion we suggest that focusing on these problems in the context of actual social interactions can become one of the key research areas within the framework of the new sociology of morality.

Good and Justice in the Context of Environmental Ethics

The article is an attempt to review some basic ethical concepts in their historical and substantive development, within the context of the environment and environmental knowledge. It also tries to answer the question whether there is a difference between traditional and environmental ethics. The comparative-historical method is used, which considers some classical ethical concepts and their interpretations related to the environment. The concepts of classical and modern scientists are also analyzed. The authors consider whether these concepts should be supplemented with new content in this area or should be reformulated in terms of moral relevance not only for the human community, but also for all non-human inhabitants of the environment. The article explores issues about the origin of morality, as well as some ideas about the moral status of attitudes among primates. More important conclusions are that ethics and environmental knowledge must be developed in cooperation in order to explain and form moral consciousness, a new type of ethos that does not allow indifference to the environment in human interaction with it, and that moral considerations should contain not only prescriptions for due human behavior in human society, but also obligations to non-human inhabitants of nature or to the environment.

The moral relevance of social categories: Analysing the case of childhood

AbstractWhat makes the categorisation of a human collective morally relevant? How does the categorisation of individuals into groups affect their social status and treatment? This article provides an account of the moral relevance of social categories and assesses the status of “childhood” within this framework. It distinguishes morally relevant social categories (labelled as social groups) through three conditions: first, individuals are externally ascribed to the social category; second, the properties of the social category are reified through the social construction of its definition; and, third, the social category predetermines the normative treatment owed to the individuals ascribed. The existence of these three characteristics in the construction of a social category entails that the individuals ascribed may be affected by unjust constraints and restrictions on their lives and choices, thus, requiring a re‐evaluation of how their social grouping frames their status and treatment. The article claims that the “childhood” social category complies with the three conditions (ascription, reification, and normativisation). This implies that individuals categorised as “children” may suffer from unjust constraints and restrictions based on their social categorisation.

Social and moral relevance of memory

Background: Previous research has discussed how remembering is a sociopsychological phenomenon; that is, a phenomenon that happens as an interplay between internal cognitive processes as well as external social factors. This article examines remembering from this perspective in conversations between a father and his son, who has suffered traumatic brain injury and has problems with his short-term memory as a result. Method: We examined 82 known-answer questions using conversation analysis. Each question, as well as the interaction it was part of, was transcribed and analyzed as single instances (single cases), and then compared and analyzed as a joint collection. Results: In both first, second, and third position, the father formulated his utterances in such a way that the son was treated as someone who had access to the knowledge. In addition, when the son claimed to not know something, the father challenged this and constructed his son as someone who was responsible for remembering the information. Conclusion: We show how knowing and remembering are social phenomena that carry their own moral rules and practices in interaction. By challenging his son’s claims of not knowing and designing turns that make the son accountable for knowing information, the father makes his son answer questions he initially claimed not to know the answers to.

Impact of oral gavage technique of drug-containing microcontainers on the gastrointestinal transit and absorption in rats

Oral gavage is the most common way to administer drug formulations orally to rats. Yet, the technique applied and its influence on gastrointestinal (GI) transit receive little attention. This study aims to investigate the impact of three oral gavage techniques on GI transit and drug absorption utilizing microcontainers (MCs). The MCs were filled with paracetamol and BaSO4 (1:1 w/w ratio), coated with Eudragit S100, and filled into size-9 gelatin capsules. An in vitro study confirmed the intactness of the coating, and the capsules were administered to rats with air, water, or a piston. X-ray imaging determined the locations of the MCs, and the corresponding plasma concentration of paracetamol established a correlation with the location. The fastest GI transit occurred with air-dosing, while water-dosing caused delayed gastric emptying for 3 h with non-quantifiable paracetamol absorption. Piston-dosed MCs were retained in the stomach for up to 1 h, though for 3 h in one rat. Air-dosing caused discomfort and stress in rats, thus limiting its ethical and physiological relevance. Water-dosing confined its use due to delayed gastric emptying. In conclusion, the oral gavage technique affected the GI transit of MCs and, consequently, drug absorption. Piston-dosing appeared to be the superior dosing technique.

Pemikiran Filsafat Etik Immanuel Kant dan Relevansinya dengan Akhlak Islam

Many philosophers have discussed ethics. Ethics as something that cannot be separated in human life, one of which is Immanuel Kant's Ethics. Kantian ethics is an ethics of obligation that does not require happiness or external factors. This is also in line with Islam that commendable morals lead humans to the highest happiness, namely the reality of God. Islam teaches morals called Islamic morals which are based on the Qur'an and hadith. Research objectives: 1) Biography, 2) Immanuel Kant's philosophy, 3) Immanuel Kant's ethical relevance to Islamic morals. The research method used is library research with a descriptive approach. Research result; 1) Immanuel Kant was born on April 22, 1724 in Konigsberg, East Prussia. Heone of the German thinkers. Regarding ethics Immanuel Kant wrote at least three books, first; Fundations of Metaphysics of Morals, second; Critique of Practical Reason, third: Metaphysics of Ethics. 2) Kant's ethical philosophy, including the ethical philosophy of deontology. Kant's ethical rationale, among others; Categorical immersion, legality and morality, autonomy of will, goodness and happiness, ethics and religion.3) Immanuel Kant's ethical relevance to Islamic morality, among others; a) The basis of obligation, b) Freedom, c) The ultimate goal.

Sorgepraxis, Politik und Nächstenliebe

AbstractThis article explores different feminist care discourses and their ethical implications and relates them to the biblical ethos of loving one’s neighbour. The latter is presented as a rich tradition of socio-historical, theological and ethical relevance for contemporaneous debates on the transformation towards a caring society. Nevertheless, it needs tobe liberated from patriarchal attitudes and other exclusive hermeneutics in Christianity (which is exemplified in a case study of Protestant moral discourse and societal practice) as well as from ignorance and prejudice in secular social science, humanities and public discourse. Hence, the article suggests rediscovering the biblical contexts and political implications of the commandment to love thy neighbour: its character as diversified social rights inspired by the Exodus, the concept of sanctification as attention to the world we live in and the prohibition of images as a resource for the development of humane respectful attitudes (integrity of the “other”) and politics of care.

Kristus og naturen

Christ and nature: An evangelical eco-theology
 This article motivates evangelical environmental care. Theological environmental ethics tends to be based on the doctrine of creation, but evangelical ethics – if it wants to be properly evangelical and convincing to evangelicals – should be based on the heart of the evangelical faith, namely on Jesus Christ. I argue that belief in the resurrection of Christ has relevance for a Christian environmental ethics. Paul's ethics is tied to his eschatology. He argues that the eschatological reality should shape our stance toward the reality of this present age. The eschatological reality is revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the disciples meet the resurrected Jesus, they see that the same body that hung on the cross and lay in the tomb is now a resurrected glorified body. As Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15, the continuity between our earthly bodies and the resurrected body entails that we should take care of our bodies. By pointing to Romans 8, I argue that the same line of reasoning applies to nature: the continuity between creation and the new creation entails that we should take care of nature.

Indignation, Civic Virtue, and the Right of Resistance: Critical Geography and Antifascism in Italy

This article addresses the ethical and scholarly relevance of notions such as antifascism and resistance for the field of critical and radical geographies, starting from a little-known case, the formation of early critical geographies in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on ideas of civic virtue and nondomination as read by radical and anarchist traditions, I analyze the recently opened archives of Lucio Gambi (1920–2006), which contain unpublished correspondence revealing the fearless role that this critical historical geographer played in denouncing at the same time the outdated positivistic, conservative, and descriptive legacies of Italian geography and the frightful prominence of former Fascist officials in that field. Addressing works of Gambi, of his friend and fellow of the 1943–1945 antifascist Resistance, geographer Giuseppe Barbieri (1923–2004), and of the collective Geografia Democratica (1974–1981), I argue for recognizing the importance, for critical geographers, of fighting against authoritarianism by adopting values of civic virtue, standing proudly against academic opportunism and political conservatism within and outside campuses, past and present.

Moral Decision-Making During COVID-19: Moral Judgements, Moralisation, and Everyday Behaviour.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose significant health, economic, and social challenges. Given that many of these challenges have moral relevance, the present studies investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing moral decision-making and whether moralisation of behaviours specific to the crisis predict adherence to government-recommended behaviours. Whilst we find no evidence that utilitarian endorsements have changed during the pandemic at two separate timepoints, individuals have moralised non-compliant behaviours associated with the pandemic such as failing to physically distance themselves from others. Importantly, our findings show that this moralisation predicts sustained individual compliance with government-recommended behaviours.

Moral relevance varies due to inter‐individual and intra‐individual differences across big data technology domains

AbstractTheories of moralization argue that moral relevance varies due to inter‐individual differences, domain differences, or a mix of both. Predictors associated with these sources of variation have been studied in isolation to assess their unique contribution to moralization. Across three studies (NStudy1 = 376; NStudy2a = 621; NStudy2b = 589), assessing attitudes towards new big data technologies, we found that moralization is best explained by theories focusing on inter‐individual variation (∼29%) and intra‐individual variation across technology domains (∼49%), and less by theories focusing on differences between technology domains (∼6%). We simultaneously examined 15 inter‐individual and 16 intra‐individual predictors that potentially explain this variation. Predictors directly relevant to the technologies (e.g., justice concerns), cognitive styles (e.g., faith in intuition), and emotional reactions (e.g., anger) best explain variation in moral relevance. Accordingly, scholars should simultaneously adopt and adapt moralization theories related to inter‐individual and intra‐individual differences across domains rather than in isolation.

Doing and Allowing Harm

Is there a morally relevant distinction between cases in which the agent harms someone and cases in which she merely allows someone to be harmed? Holding that such distinction exists and is morally relevant has implications on both theoretical and practical grounds. In my paper, I discuss one of the most conspicuous defences of the existence of the distinction between doing and allowing harm (from now on, DAH). I argue that – provided that it be possible to establish such a distinction – what really matters is whether and how this distinction would be morally relevant. The moral relevance of such distinction is, in fact, much controversial. The main reason why the DAH should be morally relevant is that it legitimizes the agents’ authority over their own resources. I address two main issues: the problem of injustice within the DAH and the conservative account of personal identity held by the advocates of DAH. Regarding the problem of injustice, I argue that when confronted with a practical problem such as the obligation to give money to charity, the DAH seems to imply that those in miserable conditions deserve it. Such a position seems to be untenable from both an ethical and a metaphysical point of view. I then discuss the notion of personal identity that would benefit from the DAH in the light of some psychoanalytic concepts. The fact of legitimizing the agents’ ownership of their own resources does matters because it allows them to fulfil those projects that constitute their Ego-Ideal. In other words, the DAH encourages the agents to become the person they already aspire to be. Such perspective delineates a particularly conservatory way of thinking about ethics which may be rejected for several reasons. One could, for instance, argue that ethics should encourage agents not to stick to their old identity but rather to question it and adapt it when new problems arise.

AI ethics and systemic risks in finance

The paper suggests that AI ethics should pay attention to morally relevant systemic effects of AI use. It draws the attention of ethicists and practitioners to systemic risks that have been neglected so far in professional AI-related codes of conduct, industrial standards and ethical discussions more generally. The paper uses the financial industry as an example to ask: how can AI-enhanced systemic risks be ethically accounted for? Which specific issues does AI use raise for ethics that takes systemic effects into account? The paper (1) relates the literature about AI ethics to the ethics of systemic risks to clarify the moral relevance of AI use with respect to the imposition of systemic risks, (2) proposes a theoretical framework based on the ethics of complexity and (3) applies this framework to discuss implications for AI ethics concerned with AI-enhanced systemic risks.

Otherness-based Reasons for the Protection of (Bio)Diversity

Different arguments in favor of the moral relevance of the concept of biodiversity (e.g., in terms of its intrinsic or instrumental value) face a range of serious difficulties, despite that biodiversity constitutes a central tenet of many environmentalist practices and beliefs. That discrepancy is considerable for the debate on potential moral reasons for protecting biodiversity. This paper adds a new angle by focusing on the potential of the concept of natural otherness—specifically individual and process otherness in nature—for providing additional moral reasons in favor of the protection of biodiversity as variety. Four arguments are presented. Two arguments draw on the individual natural otherness of nonhuman living beings and two additional arguments draw on the process otherness of active nature. The upshot is that each of these arguments—if successful—provides a moral reason in favor of the protection of biodiversity.

Lezen vanuit de wervelkolom

Reading with the spine: Cora Diamond and Vladimir Nabokov on the moral relevance of literature as aesthetical exposure When philosophers analyze the moral value of literature, literary theorists brace themselves: the reduction to a set of propositions is quickly made. In her work on the philosophy of literature, Martha Nussbaum has always resisted such reduction: literature derives its power from the interweaving of form and content. Yet her analyses are characterized by reductions that negate that very power. In the first part of this paper, I briefly discuss some of these reductions. I do this starting from the practice of literature: although Nussbaum states that she is pluralistic and wants to let the richness of the work speak for itself, in her analyses she overlooks certain aspects of literary autonomy, and thereby also excludes their moral potential. In the second part, I contrast Nussbaum's view on the moral relevance of literature successively with those of Cora Diamond and Vladimir Nabokov. Although both are convinced that literature has a moral relevance and that moral themes can be part of the aesthetic value of the work, that power only comes to the fore when one is open to the literary nature of the work, in a more amoral way. Diamond's notions of exposure, complexity and adventure and Nabokov's conception of close reading and the inherent morality of uninhibited art form the starting point for a moral value of literature with more literary sensitivity. The question underlying is: how can the moral value of literature be conceived without foregoing its literary dimensions?

Context-Dependent Risk & Benefit Sensitivity Mediate Judgments About Cognitive Enhancement

Opinions about cognitive enhancement (CE) are context-dependent. Prior research has demonstrated that factors like peer pressure, the influence of authority figures, competition, moral relevance, familiarity with enhancement devices, expertise, and the domain of CE to be enhanced can influence opinions. The variability and malleability of patient, expert, and public attitudes toward CE is important to describe and predict because these attitudes can influence at-home, clinical, research, and regulatory decisions. If individual preferences vary, they could influence opinions about practices and regulations due to disagreements about the desirable levels of risks and benefits. The study of attitudes about CE would benefit from psychological theories that explain judgments. In particular, we suggest that variability in risk and benefit sensitivity could psychologically mediate judgments about CE in many contexts. Drawing from prospect theory, which originated in behavioral economics, it is likely that framing effects, shifted reference points, and the tendency to weigh losses (risks) more heavily than gains (benefits) predict decisions about CE. We suggest that public policy could benefit from a shared conceptual framework, such as prospect theory, that allows us to describe and predict real-world decisions about CE by patients, experts, and the public.

Etika Pembelajaran Perspektif KH. Hasyim Asy’ari dalam Kitab Adabul ‘Alim wal Muta’allim Serta Relevansinya terhadap Generasi-Z

The era of information and knowledge, which is marked by the placement of information technology and intellectual knowledge as the main capital in various fields of life, turns out to have a negative impact on the growth of ethics and character of the nation. The degradation of ethics, morals, attitudes and behavior is increasingly felt in various circles of society. This problem also afflicts educators. Therefore, it is necessary for educational actors to know and practice learning ethics. Because of this, many ideas have emerged regarding the concept of learning ethics, including the concept of learning ethics by KH. Hasyim Asy'ari written in his book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim. The theological foundation in this research is the Word of Allah SWT QS. Al-Kahf verse (18: 65-70). The philosophical foundation in this research is based on the philosophy of behaviorism. This research uses a qualitative research approach with the type of literature research (Library Research). The data in this study, researchers took data from primary sources, namely the book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim by KH Hasyim Asy'ari printed Maktabah Tsurots Islami PP. Tebuireng Jombang. Collecting data from this research is done by reviewing and reviewing the literature that contains verbal data in the form of words not in the form of numbers. Thus, the discussion in this research is applied by editing, reducing, presenting which then analyzes as well as identifies and grouping according to each chapter. This study aims to: (1) To find out and analyze the concept of ethics in learning from the perspective of KH. Hasyim Asy'ari in the book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim. (2) To find out and analyze the ethical relevance of perspective learning. KH. Hasyim Asy'ari in the book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim to the Z-generation. To be able to find out the results of this study, the author uses several steps, namely: (1) Content Analysis (Content Analysis) (2) Interpretation. This study resulted in (1) the concept of learning ethics from the perspective of KH. Hasyim Asy'ari in the book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim. The contents are student ethics and educator ethics. (2) The relevance of KH's perspective learning concept. Ash'ari in the book Adabul 'Alim Wal Muta'allim against Generation-Z. The concept of learning ethics from the perspective of KH. Hasyim Asy'ari has a fairly strong relevance to the context of education today or in the Z-generation era. Especially if it is associated with the ideal teacher profile as formulated in the PP. No. 74 of 2008 and the National Education Goals listed in Law Article 3 paragraph 1 Number 20 of 2003.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of the Relevance of Teacher Professional Ethics in Contemporary Lesotho

Previous research suggests that new teachers have more negative ethical perceptions than their senior counterparts. However, there is limited research on teachers’ perceptions regarding the relevance of professional ethics in the contemporary world. Hence this study sought to explore the extent to which pre-service teachers in Lesotho consider professional ethics to be relevant. A qualitative approach was adopted and Kohlberg’s (1987) moral development theory was used as the theoretical framework for the study. Data were generated with the use of both semi-structured and focus-group interviews. Forty-six (n 46) final-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) students were purposively selected to take part in this study. Sixteen (16) were interviewed individually, while 30 were interviewed in three focus-groups of ten participants each. The findings are that the participating pre-service teachers had mixed feelings about the relevance of professional ethics of teachers. Some emphasised the importance of a teachers’ code of ethics while others indicated that some of the regulations were outdated. The position taken in this paper is that teacher professional ethics are timeless. These are meant to protect the interests of different stakeholders in education as well as the image of the teaching profession.

Narrative and Truthfulness through the Body: Interpreting Mark Wynn

This short article responds to, and interprets, two epistemic claims made by Mark Wynn concerning truth and Christian ethics. The first claim concerns how the body knows something prior to an operation of reason. The second claim concerns the relationship between narrative and metaphysics, particularly when considering the eucharist. The article interprets these claims by drawing upon Wynn's previous work in religious epistemology, and it points to its moral and doctrinal relevance for Christian ethicists today.