Religion,Morality, and Democratic Virtues: A Liberal Theological Approach to Pastoral Care

Starting from a general definition of pastoral care and politics, it is argued that pastoral care can have nothing to do with party politics. Instead, the theme of pastoral care and politics should be regarded as a sub-set of the larger issue of religion and politics in a democratic society. Adopting the view that political philosophy is at bottom an exercise in moral reflection, this article focuses on two interrelated issues: the compatibility of religion and democracy, and the connection between religion and morality. The argument proceeds in three steps. In the first section, it is demonstrated why and how major political philosophers deem it necessary to impose certain limitations on the role of religion in the public square. In the second section, Kierkegaard’s interpretation of the biblical story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22) is treated as a problematic tradition in Christian theology of admiring authoritarian faith. Finally, as a means of overcoming these difficulties, a plea is made for returning to the tradition of liberal theology and its emphasis on the internal connection between religion and morality, and on developing conscience and civic virtues by way of self-culture.     

Bridging History and Social Psychology: What, How and Why

This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in an exercise of reading and learning from each other??s work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great importance for both disciplines. Social psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other hand historians can enhance their analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can ??test?? these tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions to this special issue amply demonstrate, psychology??s ??historical turn?? has the potential to shed a new light on striking, yet underexplored, similarities between contemporary public spheres and their pre-modern counterparts. This issue thereby calls into question the dichotomy between traditional and de-traditionalized societies??a distinction that lies at the heart of many social psychology accounts of the world we live in. The present editorial will introduce and consider this act of bridging history and social psychology by focusing on three main questions: What is the bridge made of? How can the two disciplines be bridged? and Why we cross this interdisciplinary bridge? In the end a reflection on the future of this collaboration will be offered.     

Number Judgment of Postage Stamps: A Contribution to the Psychology of Social Norms

PBI teems with unanswered questions regarding location, relative position, size, color, shape, movement, magnification, and what, precisely, is being observed. A novel experimental design is suggested which might permit sustained observation of PBI with use of facilitating flicker with a quasi-moving but motionless stimulus and a stationary eye.     

How Irish Citizens Negotiate Foreign Policy: A Social Representations Approach to Neutrality

The present study investigates the relationship between the foreign policy orientation of Irish neutrality and national identity using a social representations approach (Elcheroth, Doise, & Reicher, 2011; Moscovici, 1961/76). In four focus groups conducted in the Republic of Ireland, 22 participants discussed vignettes in which hypothetical conflicts were described. The findings pointed towards the dynamic relationship between neutrality and Irish national identity and more generally to the importance of macropolitical phenomena for identity construction. The process of categorization was key to participants' decision making regarding the hypothetical conflicts; the decision to support or oppose the Irish state's involvement in the conflicts frequently revolved around a reconsideration of the boundaries of the ingroup. Furthermore, social representations were laden with the possibility of social change; the construction of neutrality as morally ambivalent, motivated by pragmatism rather than principles, opened up a space for younger participants to resist dominant, pragmatic interpretations of the policy and offer alternatives. Theoretical and empirical implications of the findings are discussed. Taken together, the findings demonstrate the critical potential of extending a social representations approach to issues of political psychological significance.     

The Price of Friendship: When,Why, and How Relational Norms Guide Social Exchange Behavior

This article critically examines McGraw and Tetlock's (2005) notion of relational framing and offers directions for future development of the conceptual model. I begin by discussing the inherent limitations of scenario studies and show how the emergence of attribution analysis in real interpersonal interactions may qualify the results obtained in these studies. I then discuss the norm consistency and social identity maintenance mechanisms proposed in the article and advance several alternative mediators of the phenomenon, including affect and anticipated interaction. I recommend experimental designs that could be used to isolate the role of the different mediators and suggest the incorporation of process measures. I end with a discussion of conditions under which relational framing may not matter and propose a research agenda for consumer researchers interested in building on the solid foundation laid by McGraw and Tetlock.     

Eamonn Callan Creating Citizens: Political Education and Liberal Democracy

Studies in Philosophy and Education -     

规范与美德的并存与互补：历史视角

美德伦理与规范伦理是生成道德整体系的两个源头,也是伦理学的两大传统和两个必要的组成部分,并有其各自的特殊功能,在其长期演进的历史过程中,展示了各自的长处与短处。历史和现实表明,美德伦理的长处正是规范伦理的短处,美德伦理的短处正是规范伦理的长处。美德伦理犹如伦理大厦的地基,地基不牢,大厦就会倒塌;规范伦理犹如这座伦理大厦的四梁八柱,是支撑伦理大厦的骨架,骨架缺失,大厦焉存？美德伦理与规范伦理的关系是并存与互补的关系。认清美德伦理与规范伦理的并存与互补的关系,是建设包括医学伦理在内的社会伦理完整体系的最佳选择。

     

How Social Norms Promote Misleading Social Feedback and Inaccurate Self‐Assessment

Self‐assessments are often prone to error. Past research has identified cognitive and motivational biases that lead self‐assessments astray. In the present paper, we discuss how behavior shaped by social norms leaves the negative information that people require for accurate self‐assessments invisible. First, social norms lead people to suppress critical feedback in favor of more positive evaluations. Although people recognize that they prefer to provide positive feedback to others, they fail to consider that they might be the recipient of incomplete feedback. As a result, they are left with overconfident self‐impressions. Second, social norms lead people to hide their own negative emotional experiences from others. Again, people are aware that this positivity norm influences their own behavior but do not apply this knowledge to their understanding of others. As a result, people regard their own negative emotions as more socially aberrant than is actually the case.     

Argumentation,Adversariality, and Social Norms

Janice Moulton's “The Adversary Method: A Philosophical Paradigm” articulated several criticisms of the popular idea of philosophy as adversarial debate. Moulton criticizes it on epistemic grounds, arguing that philosophy's overreliance on adversarial debate is to the detriment of its goals. Some, notably Trudy Govier, have argued in favor of at least a minimal adversariality, governed by norms of respectful argumentation. This paper suggests that Govier's faith in these norms is misplaced, because it neglects the social circumstances of the arguers. While some authors have argued that politeness and aggression apply differently to those of different genders, this paper extends that analysis to social identities other than gender. In fact, given certain assumptions about the philosophy of language, engagement in polite adversarial debate may not even be possible for people occupying certain social locations.     

化德性为规范:西方的理论尝试及其批评

德性伦理学是古希腊伦理学的传统.但自近代以来,德性伦理学先后发生了两次规范化运动.一次是以功利主义和康德伦理学为代表的规范伦理学取代了德性伦理学的主导地位;一次是20世纪50年代以来兴起的德性伦理学复归运动中,德性伦理学内部阵营中出现的规范化的理论动向.德性伦理学的两次规范化运动都不可避免地面临着理论上的批评.德性伦理规范化引致的理论思考是:在现代社会中,德性伦理是否必要,如何可能.