Morality in Context

Morality in Context
Author: Wolfgang Edelstein
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 419
Release: 2005-07-25
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0080456979

Morality in context is a timely topic. A debate between philosophers and social scientists is a good way to approach it. Why is there such a booming interest in morality and why does it focus on context? One starting point is the change in the sociostructural and sociocultural conditions of modern societies. This involves change in the empirical conditions of moral action and in the social demand on morality. As these changes are accounted for and analyzed in the social sciences, new perspectives emerge that give rise to new ways of framing issues and problems. These problems are best addressed by way of cooperation between philosophers and social scientists. As Habermas (1990) has pointed out in a much cited paper, philosophers depend on social science to fill in the data they require to answer the questions raised by philosophy in its "placeholder" function. The reverse also holds true: Social science needs the conceptual clarifications that philosophy can provide. With respect to morality, such mutual interchanges are of particular importance the contributions to this book show convincingly.

Moral Responsibility in Collective Contexts

Moral Responsibility in Collective Contexts
Author: Tracy Isaacs
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2011-09-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199783039

Moral Responsibility in Collective Contexts is a philosophical investigation of the complex moral landscape we find in collective scenarios such as genocide, global warming, organizational negligence, and oppressive social practices. Tracy Isaacs argues that an accurate understanding of moral responsibility in collective contexts requires attention to responsibility at the individual and collective levels.

The Myth of Morality

The Myth of Morality
Author: Richard Joyce
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2001-11-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1139430939

In The Myth of Morality, Richard Joyce argues that moral discourse is hopelessly flawed. At the heart of ordinary moral judgements is a notion of moral inescapability, or practical authority, which, upon investigation, cannot be reasonably defended. Joyce argues that natural selection is to blame, in that it has provided us with a tendency to invest the world with values that it does not contain, and demands that it does not make. Should we therefore do away with morality, as we did away with other faulty notions such as witches? Possibly not. We may be able to carry on with morality as a 'useful fiction' - allowing it to have a regulative influence on our lives and decisions, perhaps even playing a central role - while not committing ourselves to believing or asserting falsehoods, and thus not being subject to accusations of 'error'.

Morality in Everyday Life

Morality in Everyday Life
Author: Melanie Killen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1999-10-13
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521665865

This collection highlights research on morality in human development.

Handbook of the Sociology of Morality

Handbook of the Sociology of Morality
Author: Steven Hitlin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2010-10-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441968962

Human beings necessarily understand their social worlds in moral terms, orienting their lives, relationships, and activities around socially-produced notions of right and wrong. Morality is sociologically understood as more than simply helping or harming others; it encompasses any way that individuals form understandings of what behaviors are better than others, what goals are most laudable, and what "proper" people believe, feel, and do. Morality involves the explicit and implicit sets of rules and shared understandings that keep human social groups intact. Morality includes both the "shoulds" and "should nots" of human activity, its proactive and inhibitive elements. At one time, sociologists were centrally concerned with morality, issues like social cohesion, values, the goals and norms that structure society, and the ways individuals get socialized to reproduce those concerns. In the last half-century, however, explicit interest in these topics has waned, and modern sociology has become uninterested in these matters and morality has become marginalized within the discipline. But a resurgence in the topic is happening in related disciplines – psychology, neurology, philosophy, and anthropology - and in the wider national discourse. Sociology has much to offer, but is not fully engaged in this conversation. Many scholars work on areas that would fall under the umbrella of a sociology of morality but do not self-identify in such a manner, nor orient their efforts toward conceptualizing what we know, and should know, along these dimensions. The Handbook of the Sociology of Morality fills a niche within sociology making explicit the shared concerns of scholars across the disciplines as they relate to an often-overlooked dimension of human social life. It is unique in social science as it would be the first systematic compilation of the wider social structural, cultural, cross-national, organizational, and interactional dimension of human moral (understood broadly) thought, feeling, and behavior.

The Theory of Morality

The Theory of Morality
Author: Alan Donagan
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2014-12-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 022622841X

"Let us . . . nominate this the most important theoretical work on ethical or moral theory since John Rawls's Theory of Justice. If you have philosophical inclinations and want a good workout, this conscientious scrutiny of moral assumptions and expressions will be most rewarding. Donagan explores ways of acting in the Hebrew-Christian context, examines them in the light of natural law and rational theories, and proposes that formal patterns for conduct can emerge. All this is tightly reasoned, the argument is packed, but the language is clear."—Christian Century "The man value of this book seems to me to be that it shows the force of the Hebrew-Christian moral tradition in the hands of a creative philosopher. Throughout the book, one cannot but feel that a serious philosopher is trying to come to terms with his religious-moral background and to defend it against the prevailing secular utilitarian position which seems to dominate academic philosophy."—Bernard Gert, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy

Becoming Human

Becoming Human
Author: Jana Rošker
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2020-01-20
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9004423664

The book Becoming Human: Li Zehou’s Ethics offers a critical introduction and in-depth analysis of Li Zehou’s moral philosophy and ethics. Li Zehou, who is one of the most influential contemporary Chinese philosophers, believes that ethics is the most important philosophical discipline. He aims to revive, modernize, develop, and complement Chinese traditional ethics through what he calls “transformative creation” (轉化性的創造). He takes Chinese ethics, which represents the main pillar of Chinese philosophy, as a vital basis for his elaborations on certain aspects of Kant’s, Marx’s and other Western theoreticians’ thoughts on ethics, and hopes to contribute in this way to the development of a new global ethics for all of humankind.

The Culture of Morality

The Culture of Morality
Author: Elliot Turiel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2002-04-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781139432665

A thought-provoking examination of how explanations of social and moral development inform our understandings of morality and culture. A common theme in the latter part of the twentieth century has been to lament the moral state of American society and the decline of morality among youth. A sharp turn toward an extreme form of individualism and a lack of concern for community involvement and civic participation are often blamed for the moral crisis. Turiel challenges these views, drawing on a large body of research from developmental psychology, anthropology, sociology as well as social events, political movements, and journalistic accounts of social and political struggles. Turiel shows that generation after generation has lamented the decline of society and blamed young people. Using historical accounts, he persuasively argues that such characterizations of moral decline entail stereotyping, nostalgia for times past, and a failure to recognize the moral viewpoint of those who challenge traditions.

God and Morality

God and Morality
Author: John E. Hare
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2009-08-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1405195983

God and Morality evaluates the ethical theories of four principle philosophers, Aristotle, Duns Scotus, Kant, and R.M. Hare. Uses their thinking as the basis for telling the story of the history and development of ethical thought more broadly Focuses specifically on their writings on virtue, will, duty, and consequence Concentrates on the theistic beliefs to highlight continuity of philosophical thought

Management and Morality

Management and Morality
Author: Patrick Maclagan
Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1998-05-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780803976795

This comprehensive book provides an accessible overview of the moral and ethical dimensions to organizational and individual behaviour, while adding an original, developmental perspective. Management and Morality is concerned with the realization of individual moral potential and the development of ethically responsive organizations. The first two sections of the book provide clear and thorough coverage of relevant areas, such as: organization theory and behaviour; individual and organizational development; and new insights on the management of ethical dilemmas in organizations. On this basis, the third section considers new approaches to the improvement of organizational structures, processes and practices, to all