Modesty as an excellence in moral perspective taking

I argue for an egalitarian conception of modesty. Modesty is a virtue because an apt expression of what is, and is not, morally salient in our attitudes toward persons and is important because we are prone to arrogance, self‐importance, and hero worship. To make my case, I consider 3 claims which have shaped recent discussions: first, that modesty is valuable because it obviates destructive social rankings; second, that modesty essentially involves an indifference to how others evaluate one's accomplishments; and third, the widespread but normatively fraught assumption that the modest person is deserving of credit. Although the first 2 features identify something significant about modesty, they fail to ground it. I argue that appeals to deserved credit bear a larger explanatory burden than has been supposed; they can smuggle in the illegitimate social hierarchies that modesty is supposed to counter. I make my case for modesty as an excellence in moral perspective by arguing that prominent, nonegalitarian, accounts of modesty allow for or promote illegitimate forms of social privilege. Modesty is valuable because it expresses a commitment to fair distribution of basic moral recognition and a skillful response to unjust social hierarchies at odds with this fair distribution.     

Environmental Modesty

Despite this virtue's history as an instrument of women's oppression, modesty, at its most basic, means voluntary restraint of one's power, undertaken for the sake of others. It is a mechanism that modifies unequal power relationships and encourages greater compassion and fairness. I use a Christian perspective with influences from Jewish and Muslim sources to examine modesty. The modest person, I argue, must be in relationship with others, must be honestly aware of her impacts on others, must be sensitive to those impacts, compassionate toward others, and willing to hold back for others' sakes. Moreover, modesty is not only a virtue that pertains to sexuality and clothing, but it also can promote virtuous environmental behavior, particularly as it leads to awareness of, and sensitivity to, the effects of everyday behaviors on vulnerable others.     

Accounts for Success as Determinants of Perceived Arrogance and Modesty

Two factors are assumed to induce impressions of arrogance and modesty in reaction to others' accounts for success: the dimensions underlying the cause for success and the perceived desirability of the cause. Guided by Weiner's attribution theory (B. Weiner, 1986), it was proposed that accounts ascribing success to internal, stable, uncontrollable, and desirable causes represent positive given qualities of a person (e.g., intelligence and beauty) that lead to perceptions of arrogance and lack of modesty. Three vignette experiments measuring subjects' reactions to others' accounts for achievements in school and sports confirmed these predictions. Accounts induce impressions of arrogance and modesty regardless of the level of the achievement. Additionally, arrogance reduces admiration toward the achiever whereas increments in modesty and/or level of success increase it. The present findings provide further evidence of the significance of attributional information for social judgments.     

Modesty without Illusion

The common image of the fully virtuous person is of someone with perfect self-command and self-perception, who always makes correct evaluations. However, modesty appears to be a real virtue, and it seems contradictory for someone to believe that she is modest. Accordingly, traditional defenders of phronesis (the view that virtue involves practical wisdom) deny that modesty is a virtue, while defenders of modesty such as Julia Driver deny that phronesis is required for virtue. I offer a new theory of modesty—the two standards account—under which phronesis and modesty are reconciled. Additionally, since the two standards account involves reflection on moral ideals, I provide an account of the proper nature of moral ideals.     

Attributional Modesty in Women

Three experiments were conducted to test a two-factor model of the determinants of attributional modesty in women. Women tended to make modest attributions for success when they were concerned about how others would evaluate them and when they were concerned about their own self-image. Specifically, the knowledge that one's attributions would be public and the anticipation of future performance on similar tasks led to modesty. Self-derogatory attributions for failure occurred when the subjects thought their attributions would be public.     

The Gospel of Kindness

This article explores the psychological connections and ambiguities between kindness and desire. The negative effects of the tendency of Christian discourse to endorse charity and denigrate desire are explored, with particular emphasis on sexual desire. Examples are drawn from cases and research studies on homosexual desires and psychic impotence among married couples. The article continues with an appeal addressed specifically to Christians to address the divide between kindness and desire through concrete expressions of kindness that are reflective of real human desires and not, as is often the case, of its absence. It concludes with a specific appeal to pastoral theologians to embrace the kindness reflected in Jesus’ response to the implicit doubts reflected in John the Baptist’s query from prison, a response that recognized the validity of John’s own desires.     

The Kindness of Psychopaths

Psychopathy attracts considerable interdisciplinary interest. The idea of a group of people with abnormal morality and interpersonal relations raises important philosophical, legal and clinical issues. However, before engaging these issues, we ought to examine whether this category is scientifically grounded. We frame the issue in terms of the question whether ‘psychopathy’ designates a natural kind according to the cluster approaches. We argue that currently there is no sufficient evidence for an affirmative answer to this question. Furthermore, we examine three ways of dealing with the category of psychopathy. We could eliminate the category, revise it, or subscribe to a more encompassing account of kinds, which could capture psychopathy as it is currently conceptualised. We argue that while a revision of the category of psychopathy is to be expected with empirical and theoretical advancements, we also emphasise its role in clinical and forensic research, which makes it an important pragmatic kind.     

论友善

友善的本义是指像朋友一样善良。作为公民道德规范的友善 ,本质上是指友好善良的公民伦理关系和公民秩序。公民关系和公民秩序应该友善 ,是因为 ,我们的良序社会及其公共领域 ,都是伦理性的合作体系。友善规范具有规范、创造、整合功能。友善规范是抽象的 ,它的实施需要细分为更具体的义务 ,即善益待人、和气待人、诚实待人、宽厚以待人、平等相待。友善也是公民的一种主要道德品质 ,公民由之在公共领域做出友善的事情和行为友善。当前公民对于友善患有三症 ,即友善情感上的冷默症、友善行为上的推卸症、友善结果上的恐惧症。克服这三种症状 ,需要伦理、道德、管理等相结合 ,从伦理上建设公民关系和公共秩序。     

小学儿童谦虚行为的发展研究

谦虚行为是一种中国特有的亲社会行为,在有关儿童道德判断的跨文化研究领域具有比较特殊的意义.本研究通过实验室实验对311名7、9、11岁小学儿童的谦虚行为进行了有益的探索.结果发现,儿童的谦虚行为不仅与年龄因素有关,而且还会受到社会情境因素的影响.     

Defining and Exploring Modesty in Jewish American Women

Whether culture-based modesty may be a barrier to women’s health care has been a longstanding question. Numerous studies have noted that, in certain cultures, modesty is considered a barrier to mammography screening and breast feeding. Though modesty has been noted as an inherent aspect of the lived experience of many cultures, no extant measures or clear definitions were found. Jewish women, some having strict rules regarding modesty, were sampled to understand their definition of modesty. These perspectives were objectively analyzed using Q methodology. We found that although some perspectives on modesty may be accounted for by culture, there are others that are not.     

Extending Kindness: A Confucian Account

The Confucian philosopher Mengzi believes that ‘extending’ one's kindness facilitates one's moral development and that it is intimately tied to performing morally good actions. Most interpreters have taken Mengzian kindness to be an emotional state, with the extension of kindness to centrally involve feeling kindness towards more people or in a greater number of situations. I argue that kindness cannot do all the theoretical work that Mengzi wants it to do if it is interpreted as an emotion. I submit that Mengzi's notion of extending kindness is best understood as the exercise of a capacity for intelligently performing kind actions.     

Asian Variability in Performance Rating Modesty and Leniency Bias

The influence of human factors on team performance was investigated in "medical emergency driven groups" composed of medical professionals treating a sudden cardiac arrest in a high fidelity simulator setting. The group composition is unique, but realistic, in that it is not constant. Three phases are distinguished: In Phase 1, 3 nurses are present; in Phase 2, a resident joins; and in Phase 3 a senior doctor joins. It was hypothesized that directive leadership behavior would enhance group performance. This was supported with regard to the directive leadership behavior of the nurse first on bedside in Phase 1, and for directive leadership of the resident in Phase 2—but only with regard to behavior occurring in the first 30 sec after entering the group, which reflects the need for quick action in this time-sensitive task. For Phase 3, we expected not only directive leadership but also indirect guidance by "structuring inquiry" of the senior doctor to enhance performance. This was confirmed for structuring inquiry. Results indicate that to enhance group performance training should go beyond "technical" training that concentrates on medical necessities. Rather, it should include aspects of group coordination, emphasizing that coordinating behavior should be adapted (a) to the situation and (b) to professional role requirements.     

The False Modesty of the Identity Theory of Truth

The identity theory of truth, according to which true thoughts are identical with facts, is very hard to formulate. It oscillates between substantive versions, which are implausible, and a merely truistic version, which is difficult to distinguish from deflationism about truth. This tension is present in the form of identity theory that one can attribute to McDowell from his views on perception, and in the conception defended by Hornsby under that name