On the Structure of Bioethics as a Pragmatic Discipline

This article analyzes certain aspects of the structure of bioethics as a discipline. It begins by arguing that bioethics is an academic discipline of a pragmatic nature and then puts forward a classification of the main problems, issues, and concerns in bioethics, using this classification as a way to outline the limits and framework of the field. Pushing further, it contends that comprehensive treatment of any topic in bioethics requires that three normative dimensions (the ethical, the moral, and the political) be taken into account. It concludes that the classification of the issues and analysis of each issue's normative dimensions can provide valuable contributions toward understanding the sui generis structure of bioethics as a pragmatic discipline.     

Morality,convention and conventional morality

Among anthropologists and sociologists, it is widely believed that moral rules are best understood as a type of social norm. Moral philosophers, however, have largely been hostile to this suggestion. In recent years, the impulse to distinguish moral rules from others types of social norm has received what many take to be empirical support from the work of Elliot Turiel and his collaborators, who have argued that there are two distinct “domains” of social cognition, the “moral” and the “conventional.” Many philosophers have taken this as proof that moral rules are fundamentally different from “conventional” social norms. I argue that moral philosophers should not be relying upon Turiel’s view to defend the moral/conventional distinction. First, I show that Turiel is claiming much less than many have taken him to be claiming, because he puts a lot of what philosophers have traditionally thought of as “morality” on the side of convention, or else in the broad region between the two that he refers to as “multidimensional contexts.” Second, I argue that his concept of the “conventional” is so narrow that the overwhelming majority of social norms – such as the standard rules of etiquette – wind up falling into the “multidimensional” category. This stems from his failure to distinguish between genuine conventions and what I refer to as “norms with conventional elements.”     

The pathway to accepting derogatory ingroup norms: The roles of compartmentalization and legitimacy

ObjectivesThe current experiment was conducted among ice hockey fans, and brings together theories of intergroup relations and self and identity literature. It investigated if perceiving strong norms in favor of derogating against fans of outgroup teams, and engaging in these behaviors oneself, leads to an increased compartmentalization of these behaviors (i.e., such that they are restricted to a particular compartment within the self). This association was expected to be especially strong when derogatory behaviors are portrayed as illegitimate. We also explored whether this compartmentalization then flows on to vitality as a well-being indicator.Method and designIce hockey fans supporting a diversity of NHL teams were recruited (N = 116). The legitimacy of the derogatory behaviors was manipulated by making salient either: that these behaviors have harmful consequences for outgroup members (illegitimate condition) vs. that such behaviors can benefit the ingroup (legitimate condition).ResultsThe expected mediated model was supported among the entire sample. The association between engaging in the derogatory behaviors and their compartmentalization in the self was also moderated by the experimental manipulation: While participants in the illegitimate condition reported a positive link between engaging in these behaviors and their compartmentalization, participants in the legitimate condition did not show a significant association between these variables, suggesting no need for them to restrict these behaviors within themselves.ConclusionsResults are discussed in light of normative approaches, intergroup theories, and the self.     

An Aesthetic Review of New Mothers as the Ultimate Weaver: Achieving a Harmonious Integration of Prevalent Discourses and Lived Experience

Experiences in new motherhood are influenced by popular sociological discourses and ideologies. The narratives promoted in these discourses may or may not fit with the subjective experience of the mother. Lacking experience in motherhood, the new mother may misguidedly accept these mainstream discourses and ideologies as standard. The process of adapting and blending sociological narratives to fit with lived experience is similar to the art of weaving. This article, an original argument grounded in relevant literature, explores how new mothers can develop a balanced weave of popular social discourse and her subjective experience by: accepting motherhood as a creative process, being aware of the powerful influence of social constructs on her perceptions, and recognizing the influence of her body/biology on her lived experience. The aesthetic narrative of the spider, the ultimate weaver, accompanies the research presented. Complementary art therapy interventions such as weaving, art boxes, and dolls are discussed.     

社会责任消费的结构、形成机制及企业响应

社会责任消费是指消费者通过个人努力来促进促进环境保护和社会良性发展的一种消费模式。社会责任消费结构与测量从单一维度逐渐过渡到了多维度, 并涵盖了从产品获得、使用到购后垃圾处理的整个过程。从影响社会责任消费的心理距离来看, 社会责任消费的形成机制主要包括三类：进化心理机制阐述了作为人类进化结果的亲社会偏好是如何影响社会责任消费的, 属于远端机制; 社会规范机制阐述了外部的社会规范(命令性规范与描述性规范)是如何发挥作用的, 属于中端机制; 态度-行为(意愿)模型则主要阐述了消费者内部心理因素的影响, 属于近端机制。随着消费者社会责任消费影响力的扩大, 企业纷纷重视其自身社会责任行为, 并由此衍生出以企业社会责任为导向的营销策略, 然而其效果受到诸多因素影响。文章最后指出了已有研究尚未解决的问题以及未来的一些研究方向。     

Conflicting imperatives and dyadic deontic logic

Often a set of imperatives or norms seems satisfiable from the outset, but conflicts arise when ways to fulfill all are ruled out by unfortunate circumstances. Semantic methods to handle normative conflicts were devised by B. van Fraassen and J.F. Horty, but these are not sensitive to circumstances. The present paper extends these resolution mechanisms to circumstantial inputs, defines dyadic deontic operators accordingly, and provides a sound and (weakly) complete axiomatic system for such deontic semantics.     

Deliberative Democracy and "Human Nature": An Empirical Approach

The idea of deliberative democracy is based upon an implicit and questionable assumption that the ability for a meaningful participation in deliberation is a common characteristic of citizens of democratic countries. This paper discusses that assumption and describes the results of empirical research aimed at finding out (1) whether ordinary people are able to solve important ideological and moral controversies by means of deliberation, (2) what factors may facilitate this process, and (3) what are the effects of the deliberation. The research consisted in studying 20 small groups of parents of school-aged children who were asked to participate in a debate about sex education in Polish schools (N  =  195). The debates were conducted by a facilitator. Before and after the debate participants filled out questionnaires testing their attitudes and some psychological variables. The debates were recorded on videotapes. We found that it is possible to conduct a debate on ideologically contentious issues that meets some criteria of the deliberative functioning and such a debate may have some of the effects postulated by deliberative theorists.     

Economic inequality enhances inferences that the normative climate is individualistic and competitive

In addition to the negative effects of economic inequality on a range of health and social outcomes, we propose that inequality should also affect how people perceive the broader normative climate in society. We predicted that people living in a more unequal (vs. equal) society are more likely to appraise the social context as one where individualism determines people's behavior. We tested this idea in three experiments by manipulating the degree of economic inequality in a fictional society. We showed that, compared to the low-inequality condition, participants in the high-inequality condition were more likely to project individualistic norms onto society. Furthermore, Experiments 2 and 3 showed that in the high- (vs. low-) economic-inequality condition, participants inferred more competition and less cooperation between people. Our results are discussed in light of the importance of the perception of a broader normative climate to explain the consequences of economic inequality.     

社会规范的动态过程

社会心理学的经典研究将社会规范区分为描述性规范与指令性规范。近年来, 研究者从以往对社会规范的静态区分, 开始深入研究社会规范“如何发展变化”的动态过程, 即探究社会规范的习得、传播与转变过程, 以及社会规范发挥作用的影响因素。社会规范的习得可以追溯至童年早期的社会互动, 描述性规范的形成是个体在社会网络中学习社会范畴典型范例的过程, 对现状的合理化催生了描述性规范向指令性规范的转化。社会规范发挥作用也呈现动态性, 不仅与社会规范的心理功能相关, 即遵守或违反社会规范能满足个体的安全感、归属感、独特感需要等, 还与外部环境如权力位置、惩罚机制相关。未来研究可对社会规范形成过程、作用过程做进一步分析; 结合社会规范强度研究, 深入探讨规范性影响的作用过程; 开展文化情境下的社会规范研究等。