Natural Moralities

Natural Moralities
Author: David B Wong
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2009-03-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199724849

In this book, David B. Wong defends an ambitious and important new version of moral relativism. He does not espouse the type of relativism that says anything goes, but he does start with a relativist stance against alternative theories such that there need not be only one universal truth. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities existing across different traditions and cultures, all with one core human question as to how we can all live together.

The Ethnography of Moralities

The Ethnography of Moralities
Author: Signe Howell
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1997
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780415133593

With the recent shift towards an interest in indigenous notions of self and personhood, questions pertaining to the moral and ethical origins of beliefs relating to human rights become increasingly relevant.

The Anthropology of Moralities

The Anthropology of Moralities
Author: Monica Heintz
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2009-08-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1845459385

Anthropologists have been keenly aware of the tension between cultural relativism and absolute norms, and nowhere has this been more acute than with regards to moral values. Can we study the Other’s morality without applying our own normative judgments? How do social anthropologists keep both the distance required by science and the empathy required for the analysis of lived experiences? The plurality of moralities has not received an explicit and focused attention until recently, when accelerated globalization often resulted in the collision of different value systems. Observing, describing and assessing values cross-culturally, the authors propose various methodological approaches to the study of moralities, illustrated with rich ethnographic accounts, thus offering a valuable guide for students of anthropology, sociology and cultural studies and for professionals concerned with the empirical and cross-cultural study of values.

Moralizing Technology

Moralizing Technology
Author: Peter-Paul Verbeek
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2011-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0226852903

Technology permeates nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Cars enable us to travel long distances, mobile phones help us to communicate, and medical devices make it possible to detect and cure diseases. But these aids to existence are not simply neutral instruments: they give shape to what we do and how we experience the world. And because technology plays such an active role in shaping our daily actions and decisions, it is crucial, Peter-Paul Verbeek argues, that we consider the moral dimension of technology. Moralizing Technology offers exactly that: an in-depth study of the ethical dilemmas and moral issues surrounding the interaction of humans and technology. Drawing from Heidegger and Foucault, as well as from philosophers of technology such as Don Ihde and Bruno Latour, Peter-Paul Verbeek locates morality not just in the human users of technology but in the interaction between us and our machines. Verbeek cites concrete examples, including some from his own life, and compellingly argues for the morality of things. Rich and multifaceted, and sure to be controversial, Moralizing Technology will force us all to consider the virtue of new inventions and to rethink the rightness of the products we use every day.

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.

Moralities of Everyday Life

Moralities of Everyday Life
Author: John Sabini
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1982
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

This original and illuminating study uses the tools of social psychology and analytic philosophy to examine familiar emotions and behavior patterns and the pressures they exert on personal relationships and social conditions. Topics range from flirtation and gossip to the Holocaust. "Provocative. ... Social psychologists would benefit from reading [this] book, not just for its stimulating ideas but also for a method -- that of analytical philosophy -- that is worth appreciating." --Contemporary Psychology

Morality

Morality
Author: Jarrett Zigon
Publisher: Berg
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1847884601

Morality: An Anthropological Perspective provides the first account of anthropological approaches to the question of morality. By considering how morality is viewed and enacted in different cultures, and how it is related to key social institutions such as religion, law, gender, sexuality and medical practice, Morality takes a closer look at some of the most central questions of the morality debates of our time. The book combines theory with practical case studies for student use. Drawing on anthropological, philosophical and general social scientific literature, the book will be useful for both undergraduate students and researchers. Accessibly written, Morality provides a unique and wide-ranging perspective on morality, and will be essential reading for those interested in this important contemporary debate.

Multiple Moralities and Religions in Post-Soviet Russia

Multiple Moralities and Religions in Post-Soviet Russia
Author: Jarrett Zigon
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2011-09-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 085745210X

In the post-Soviet period morality became a debatable concept, open to a multitude of expressions and performances. From Russian Orthodoxy to Islam, from shamanism to Protestantism, religions of various kinds provided some of the first possible alternative moral discourses and practices after the end of the Soviet system. This influence remains strong today. Within the Russian context, religion and morality intersect in such social domains as the relief of social suffering, the interpretation of history, the construction and reconstruction of traditions, individual and social health, and business practices. The influence of religion is also apparent in the way in which the Russian Orthodox Church increasingly acts as the moral voice of the government. The wide-ranging topics in this ethnographically based volume show the broad religious influence on both discursive and everyday moralities. The contributors reveal that although religion is a significant aspect of the various assemblages of morality, much like in other parts of the world, religion in postsocialist Russia cannot be separated from the political or economic or transnational institutional aspects of morality.

Morality Politics in Western Europe

Morality Politics in Western Europe
Author: Isabelle Engeli
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2012-06-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1137016698

Why do some countries have 'Culture Wars' over morality issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while other countries hardly experience any conflict? This book argues that morality issues only generate major conflicts in political systems with a significant conflict between religious and secular parties.

Foundations for Moral Relativism

Foundations for Moral Relativism
Author: J. David Velleman
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2015-11-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1783740329

In this new edition of Foundations for Moral Relativism a distinguished moral philosopher tames a bugbear of current debate about cultural difference. J. David Velleman shows that different communities can indeed be subject to incompatible moralities, because their local mores are rationally binding. At the same time, he explains why the mores of different communities, even when incompatible, are still variations on the same moral themes. The book thus maps out a universe of many moral worlds without, as Velleman puts it, "moral black holes”. The six self-standing chapters discuss such diverse topics as online avatars and virtual worlds, lying in Russian and truth-telling in Quechua, the pleasure of solitude and the fear of absurdity. Accessibly written, this book presupposes no prior training in philosophy.