CAUTION: This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Very interesting addition - by all (Ali, Lene, Nic, Gregg).Some observations, if I may:
- I tend to not agree that values are “trait based.” Rather, they seem to be trait influenced, among other influences.
- Let’s take a further step back: a consider “beliefs.” I pose (though, am not the author) that values are “beliefs which require action.”
- Hence, what do you all think precedes beliefs?
All are constituents of “the human condition.”
Best regards,
Waldemar
On Jan 13, 2022, at 7:22 AM, Nicholas Lattanzio <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
If anything is clear here it's that we have a similar type of levels of reality confusion. Many of these, like ethics and laws, as Lee points out, are social constructs. Some, like values, and morals, actually do have biological representations (though not necessarily genesis). Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but virtues, while they may lend themselves to morality and ethics, are truly trait-based in nature (e.g., someone said to be kind in virtue is certainly high on the trait conscientiousness. When you add culture you add more than just culture, you add cultural ambiguity, which I see as a straightforward synonym for moral ambiguity, highlighting the link between the culture plane and the biological plane (affective) via the animal/mental plane. That complicates what is what in the sense that our values may be context dependent only in certain contexts that activate moral contingencies, thus creating positive feedback loops into reflective recursive awareness. I think this process expanded can explain a lot of where postmodernism fell into chaos.
I have always struggled to find succinct ways to separate these definitions, though I can offer that I've never considered a principle to be one of these categories. I think a principle is a point that can be stood upon within ethics, morals, virtues, values, etc., and I suppose in that way is more a cross breed of a value-virtue enactment?
Regards,
Nicholas G. Lattanzio, Psy.D.
############################CAUTION: This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Ali,A great question and a great newsletter article!
I wrote on the distinction between values and virtues at: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Virtues#What_is_Virtue?In short, a value is something we find important, and a virtue is the consistent application of a value as our way of living.
Values become virtues when they are internalized as enduring character traits. For example, the value of "truth" becomes the virtue of "honesty" when truth becomes a consistent motive for your behavior.
Morals help us decide “what should I do?” They are the “oughts” of our lives.
Many philosophers consider “ethics” and “morals” to be close synonyms.Lene offers a useful distinction.I like the Stanford encyclopedia of Philosophy as a reliable reference.I notice they have an extensive article on the definition of morality, but none of ethics.
We need to be clear that (government) laws are social constructs.They often are the result of power struggles and can be far removed from moral considerations.Natural laws, in contrast, are often discovered by Physicists.If you break a government law you go to jail. If you break a natural law, you win a noble prize. Go figure!
Thanks,
Lee Beaumont############################
On Jan 13, 2022, at 5:56 AM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
############################Love to see this discussion.A couple of quick thoughts.First, from a UTOK vantage point, values need to be recognized to explicitly span across the psyche. Behavioral Investment Theory frames the nervous system as an “investment value system”. Joining with John’s work, we can frame it as a neurocognitive system that functions via recursive relevance realization to realize the path of investment. So, we have the animal-primate valuation process, again via John, framed by perspectival, procedural and participatory knowing. Then we have justified values, in the self-conscious propositional layer, which is what we use to explicitly navigate the Culture-Person plane of existence.I generally see morals as the largest and most general justifiable values. There are “conventional morals”, but I would just call them conventions. My “Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity” was my ultimate moral-value justification.I see ethics as the process of making wise, intelligence morally justified decisions that generate desired outcomes.Laws as the conventional rules enforced by a society to coordinate behavior and legitimize punishment and control for violations.Great work Ali. The main piece is I want to emphasize here is that you can get good mileage out of “lensing” these things thru the Animal-Mental and Person-Culture planes of existence. I would say that Morals, Ethics, and Laws have to be propositionally constituted by self-conscious Persons, whereas values exist at the Mind dimension.
Best,
GreggFrom: theory of knowledge society discussion <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Lene Rachel Andersen
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 11:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Clarification of Values, Morals, Ethics, and LawsCAUTION: This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Ali,
Very good question, we are struggling with it too in the Bildung network: what is the difference between values, morals, and personal emotional and moral development and the ability to deliberately choose your commitment, actions, viewpoints etc.?
In the Bildung Rose http://bildungrose.com/ I distinguish between morals and ethics in the following way:
- Morals: the guidelines for proper behavior in familiar situations
- Ethics: the principles behind the morals; what can guide us in unfamiliar situations
With new technologies, morals are not enough, we need to consult our ethics, because the new technologies create unfamiliar situations and dilemmas.
Am looking very much forward to other people's thinking regarding this.
Warmly,
Lene
On 13-01-2022 05:20, Alexis Kenny wrote:CAUTION: This email originated from outside of JMU. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Group,I'm writing up a newsletter about values that has absolutely sent me into the weeds. I've spent entirely too much time (or not enough?) trying to parse out definitions of and relations between values, morals, ethics, and laws. I know Gregg has covered this content in a few spaces (which I tried to follow).What was supposed to be a cushy topic review has become...something entirely else. Ha! I would appreciateANY feedback on the following content (the bullets at the bottom are questions that came up for me as I worked on this):VALUES. Values are what we deem important and worthy in life; our own personal platforms for making decisions. They inform how we spend their time and energy. We often inherit values from our cultures, families of origin, religious, political, or ideological persuasions, and then we add, swap, and / or modify our values based on education, important life experiences / commitments as we age. Principles are indisputable standards that are more objective and can be applied across many spaces. So while one’s personal values can be principles, principles are not always individual values.
Example: I value integrity, so I will pay for this medicine.
MORALS. Values become morals through community consensus. Therefore, the very process of creating one's own set of values is informed by the moral system in which an individual exists. Morals, as stated, are the systems of beliefs that emerge out of commonly shared core values. Virtues are traits or qualities that are considered morally good within such frames. Morals occur when entities interact and are often bound to cultural spaces. Morals are context-driven and serve to regulate an individual’s desire to be good (i.e., which, oftentimes, means the maintenance of social connection with others).
Example: It is bad for me to steal medicine (based on the value of integrity).
Moral dilemmas come about when shared moral codes come into conflict with personal values. Question:Should I steal medicine if I can’t afford it for my dying mother, but have access to the pharmacy storeroom? In this scenario, one of my core values prohibits me from stealing. However, my morality suggests that I should help my mother. Therefore, I might do the wrong thing (stealing, as judged by my values) for the right reason (saving my mother, as judged by my morals).
ETHICS. Ethics are an institution's attempt to philosophically manage behavior by offering guidelines based on a shared moral code. These are standards that offer us reasoning regarding what behaviors are allowed and what are not; what is “right” and “wrong.”
Example: Because I violated my employer’s code of ethics (by stealing medicine), I will be fired from my job.
Ethical dilemmas occur when ethical codes come into conflict with a moral system. Question: Should my employer not fire me because of my personal circumstances? In this scenario, my company’s ethical code prohibits me from stealing. However, my boss’s morality may suggest that he take my context and upstanding personhood into consideration. Therefore, he may do the right thing (let me keep my job, as judged by his morals) for a non-compliant reason (not following guidelines, as judged by the organization’s ethical code).
LAWS. Laws are systematic rules that govern a particular body of people. They are a set of regulations that are enacted by the government and are punishable when violated. The intention of laws is to maintain social order whereas ethics are meant to help people decide how to decide to act.
Example: I committed a misdemeanor by stealing medicine and will have to pay a fine and potentially spend time in a local jail.
Lawful dilemmas occur when governmental rules come into conflict with an ethical code. Question: Should a courtroom judge not penalize me with jail time because of my personal circumstances? In this scenario, the judge’s lawfulness encourages her to punish me for a crime. However, the judge’s ethical code may suggest that she take my context and upstanding personhood into consideration. Therefore, she may do the right thing (have me do community service, as judged by her ethics) for an unlawful reason (not punishing me to the full extent of the law, as judged by our government).
In summary, it might be helpful for you to remember this content by using the following mnemonic:
Values provide
Morals guide
Ethics decide
Laws abide
OR
Values justify
Morals apply
Ethics comply
Laws stand by
OR
Values individually justify
Morals personally apply
Ethics communally comply
Laws governmentally stand by
- Values motivate while morals/ethics/laws restrain? Is this true?
- Are there universal values, principles, morals, ethics, or laws?
Warmly,AliP.S. So enjoying reading folks' responses to the Postmodernism thread. Thanks for starting it Nicholas!############################To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
--
Lene Rachel Andersen
Futurist, economist, author & keynote speaker
President of Nordic Bildung and co-founder of the European Bildung Network
Full member of the Club of Rome
Nordic Bildung
Vermlandsgade 51, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark
www.nordicbildung.org
+45 28 96 42 40############################To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link:http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link:http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
############################To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1