Morality

About: Morality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22623 publications have been published within this topic receiving 545733 citations. The topic is also known as: moral & morals.

Morality Within the Limits of Reason

Abstract: This provocative, lucidly written reconstruction of utilitarianism focuses on the practical constraints involved in ethical choice: information may be inadequate, and understanding of causes and effects may be limited. Good decision making may be especially constrained if other people are closely involved in determining an outcome. Hardin demonstrates that many of these structural issues can and should be distinguished from the thornier problems of utilitarian value theory, and he is able to show what kinds of moral conclusions we can reach within the limits of reason.

Strong Reciprocity and the Roots of Human Morality

Abstract: Human morality is a key evolutionary adaptation on which human social behavior has been based since the Pleistocene era. Ethical behavior is constitutive of human nature, we argue, and human morality is as important an adaptation as human cognition and speech. Ethical behavior, we assert, need not be a means toward personal gain. Because of our nature as moral beings, humans take pleasure in acting ethically and are pained when acting unethically. From an evolutionary viewpoint, we argue that ethical behavior was fitness-enhancing in the years marking the emergence of Homo sapiens because human groups with many altruists fared better than groups of selfish individuals, and the fitness losses sustained by altruists were more than compensated by the superior performance of the groups in which they congregated.

Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction

Abstract: Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1 The Responsibilities of Engineers. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Responsibility. 1.3 Passive Responsibility. 1.4 Active Responsibility and the Ideals of Engineers. 1.5 Engineers versus Managers. 1.6 The Social Context of Technological Development. 1.7 Chapter Summary. 2 Codes of Conduct. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Codes of Conduct. 2.3 Possibilities and Limitations of Codes of Conduct. 2.4 Codes of Conduct in an International Context. 2.5 Chapter Summary. 3 Normative Ethics. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Ethics and Morality. 3.3 Descriptive and Normative Judgments. 3.4 Points of Departure: Values, Norms, and Virtues. 3.5 Relativism and Absolutism. 3.6 Ethical Theories. 3.7 Utilitarianism. 3.8 Kantian Theory. 3.9 Virtue Ethics. 3.10 Care Ethics. 3.11 Applied Ethics. 3.12 Chapter Summary. 4 Normative Argumentation. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Valid Arguments. 4.3 Deductive and Non-Deductive Arguments. 4.4 Arguments in Ethical Theories. 4.5 Fallacies. 4.6 Chapter Summary. 5 The Ethical Cycle. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Ill-Structured Problems. 5.3 The Ethical Cycle. 5.4 An Example. 5.5 Collective Moral Deliberation and Social Arrangements. 5.6 Chapter Summary. 6 Ethical Questions in the Design of Technology. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Ethical Issues During the Design Process. 6.3 Trade-offs and Value Conflicts. 6.4 Regulatory Frameworks: Normal and Radical Design. 6.5 Chapter Summary. 7 Designing Morality (Peter-Paul Verbeek). 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Ethics as a Matter of Things. 7.3 Technological Mediation. 7.4 Moralizing Technology. 7.5 Designing Mediations. 7.6 Chapter Summary. 8 Ethical Aspects of Technical Risks. 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Definitions of Central Terms. 8.3 The Engineer's Responsibility for Safety. 8.4 Risk Assessment. 8.5 When are Risks Acceptable? 8.6 Risk Communication. 8.7 Dealing with Uncertainty and Ignorance. 8.8 Chapter Summary. 9 The Distribution of Responsibility in Engineering. 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 The Problem of Many Hands. 9.3 Responsibility and the Law. 9.4 Responsibility in Organizations. 9.5 Responsibility Distributions and Technological Designs. 9.6 Chapter Summary. 10 Sustainability, Ethics, and Technology (Michiel Brumsen). 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 Environmental Ethics? 10.3 Environmental Problems. 10.4 Sustainable Development. 10.5 Can a Sustainable Society be Realized? 10.6 Engineers and Sustainability. 10.7 Chapter Summary. Study Questions. Discussion Questions. Appendix I: Engineering Qualifications and Organizations in a Number of Countries. Appendix II: NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. Appendix III: FEANI Position Paper on Code of Conduct: Ethics and Conduct of Professional Engineers. Appendix IV: Shell Code of Conduct. Appendix V: DSM Values and Whistle Blowing Policy. Glossary. References. Index of Cases. Index.

A Social–Cognitive Approach to the Moral Personality

Abstract: In the last decade there has been a remarkable resurgence of interest in study-ing moral rationality within the broad context of personality, selfhood, andidentity. Although a concernwith themoral selfwas never entirely absent fromthe cognitive developmental approach to moral reasoning (e.g., Blasi, 1983,1984), it is fair to say that sustained preoccupation with the ontogenesis of jus-tice reasoning did not leave much room for reflection on how moral cognitionintersects with personological processes. There were both paradigmatic andstrategic reasons for this.