Lessons from Morality-Based Social Identity: The Power of Outgroup “Hate,” Not Just Ingroup “Love”

Based on the unique features of morality, we suggest that group memberships rooted in moral convictions are a special classification of inherently threatening social groups in which outgroup “hate” naturally occurs with ingroup “love.” Three studies explored emotional reactions to ingroups and outgroups by individuals whose group memberships were either morality-based or non-morality-based. Results of each study indicated that individuals in morality-based groups reported less positive ingroup emotions and more negative outgroup emotions and threat than did those in non-morality-based groups. Additionally, strength of morality-based identification was predicted by attitudes about both the ingroup and the outgroup, but only attitudes about the ingroup predicted identification for non-morality-based groups. Together, these studies suggest a necessary interdependence of ingroup positivity and outgroup negativity for social groups based in morality. We conclude that negative outgroup-related emotions may be just as important as positive ingroup-related emotions for social identification based on moral convictions.     

The Structure of Social Practices and the Connection between Law and Morality*

In his work, Jules Coleman has held that the rule of recognition, if conceived of as a shared cooperative activity, should be the gateway through which to incorporate moral constraints on the content of law. This analysis, however, leaves unanswered two important questions. For one thing, we do not know when or even why morality becomes a criterion of legality. And, for another thing, we still do not know what conception of morality it is that we are dealing with. In this article, we will attempt to clarify in greater depth what relations there are between the social practice of law and morality. We will thus see how the cooperative nature of social practices imbues law with a moral force, and how this makes it possible to establish a “weak” connection between law and morality: To see this, we will need to single out some basic features of cooperative social practices, thus setting out a suitable framework for the view just mentioned.     

宪法社会公德条款的规范阐释

社会公德是人们在社会交往和公共生活中应当遵循的基本行为准则。传统社会公德要求人们相善其群,现代社会公德指向一种整合性的功能要求,在多元的个体道德取向和社会共同道德要求之间保持适度张力。宪法作为共同体的组织规则,需要在“个体—社会—国家”的整体框架中进行持续性整合。基于社会公德的整合作用,宪法将其纳入规范体系,促进其整合功能实现。宪法社会公德条款承载着个体实现社会化、维系社会共同体、作为个体与国家的联结中介等理想功能。然而,由于相关文本的规范品格未获充分确认,文本表述不够清晰,实施动力略显不足,导致其功能受到一定阻滞。应当在规范目标的导引下,依托宪法解释,确认宪法社会公德条款的规范品格,阐明其规范内涵,并夯实规范实施的社会基础,促进其理想功能的实现。     

刑法和道德的界限考察

刑法和道德之间存在一定程度的联系,两者都是调整人类行为的社会规范,如果能在两者之间划出一条清晰的界限作为调整犯罪行为或道德行为的标准,显然非常重要。应从刑法理论、司法实践及几种道德分类等方面去剖析道德和刑法的界限问题。     

Activity Fields and the Dynamics of Crime

Our current understanding of the role of the social environment in crime causation is at best rudimentary. Guided by the theoretical framework of Situational Action Theory, and using data from the ESRC financed Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+), this paper aims to propose how we can better theorise and study the role of the social environment, particularly the person and place interaction, in crime causation. We will introduce, and illustrate the usefulness of, a space–time budget methodology as a means of capturing people’s exposure to settings and describing their activity fields. We will suggest and demonstrate that, combined with a small area community survey and psychometric measures of individual characteristics, a space–time budget is a powerful tool for advancing our knowledge about the role of the social environment, and its interaction with people’s crime propensity, in crime causation. Our unique data allows us to study the convergence in time and space of crime propensity, criminogenic exposure and crime events. As far as we are aware, such an analysis has never before been carried out. The findings show that there are (a) clear associations between young people’s activity fields and their exposure to criminogenic settings, (b) clear associations between their exposure to criminogenic settings and their crime involvement, and, crucially, (c) that the influence of criminogenic exposure depends on a person’s crime propensity. Having a crime-averse morality and strong ability to exercise self-control appears to make young people practically situationally immune to the influences of criminogenic settings, while having a crime-prone morality and poor ability to exercise self-control appears to make young people situationally vulnerable to the influences of criminogenic settings.     

Strong Reciprocity and the Roots of Human Morality

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.     

Shame, Guilt and Remorse: Implications for Offender Populations

The emotions shame and guilt may represent a critical stepping stone in the rehabilitation process. Often referred to as "moral" emotions owing to their presumed role in promoting altruistic behavior and inhibiting antisocial behaviors, shame and guilt provide potentially exciting points of intervention with offenders. In this article, we describe current psychological theory and research that underscores important differences between shame and guilt. We note parallels between psychologists' conceptions of guilt and shame, and criminologists' conceptions of reintegrative and disintegrative shaming. We summarize recent research investigating the implications of these moral emotions for criminal and risky behavior, with special emphasis on the handful of studies conducted with actual offenders. We conclude with a discussion of implications for treatment in criminal justice settings.     

Social capital and knowledge acquisition in professional-client relationships

This paper examines the role of social capital in professional-client relationships. We consider exploring the effects of social capital on the creation of human capital, a subject which is worthwhile investigating within all professions. In this paper, we concentrate on what are known as the structural and attributive dimensions of social capital and aim to understand their effects on the knowledge acquisition of professional practitioners. We analyse the association between social capital and human capital (i.e., knowledge acquisition) in the context of the lawyer-client relationship. Through the application of social capital theory, this paper seeks to advance our knowledge of the relations between professionals and clients. More importantly, the study contributes to improving our understanding of the role of social capital in influencing a lawyer's ability to retain and win new clients.     

论构建和谐社会的法治与德治途径

和谐的社会应当是社会各个方面、各个层次的主体之间在经济、社会和自然环境等几个方面的相互协调。文章围绕法律与道德的产生与发展历程,面对中国实现法治和德治过程中存在的相关问题,提出德治是法治的权威公正之基础。认为和谐社会的构建不能仅仅只依赖法治,在一定程度上,道德的建设是更深远的,是对法律的完善与补充。     

Political Emotion

Emotions played a key role in the mass rallies that tookplace in Moscow and other major Russian cities in 2011–13. A comparison between the emotions expressed in anti-government and pro-government rallies shows that participants shared similar views on social order and social justice. However, similar emotions articulated in different locations were imbued with different tonalities and rhetoric. The grassroots horizontal cooperation at the civil society rallies opened up space for crisscrossing communication and interaction among demonstrators, which created vivid, self-organized emotions. The vertical structure of mobilization at the progovernment rallies, which was based on coercion, impeded free communication among its participants, closing off communication in the space of labor collectives, which hindered the production of emotions “from below” and prevented the communication of emotional spontaneity: the protesters could only adopt the emotions broadcast from the stage.     

法与道德关系模式的历史反思

西方学者在法与道德关系的争论中提出了许多模式 ,著名的有康德模式、富勒模式、哈特模式等。这些模式虽然在某种程度上能揭示法与道德的关系 ,但都不够理想。法和道德都有观念、规范或制度、秩序三个层次 ,二者的观念层次是相通的和深藏于现在一般所说的价值观念之中。另外 ,在秩序层次二者也是很难区分的 ,因为它都落实在人的行为中 ,而一个行为 ,如果符合秩序的要求或构成社会秩序的话 ,可能同时具有法律意义和道德意义。这样 ,法与道德的区别主要存在于规范或制度层次。     

中国传统社会基层治理的法律机制与经验

基层社会治理对于整体社会治理起着重要的基础和支撑作用.在中国传统社会的基层治理中,形成了一套圆融自洽、顺利运行的法律机制,其中蕴含了我国在基层社会治理方面的宝贵经验.传统儒家法与道德相混成,一直将道德教化作为重要的社会治理手段,德治与法治相结合;而基层的自治制度,不论在立法还是司法上,都为国家法律体系的有机组成部分.中...     

道德性:法律的人性之维——兼论法与道德的关系

法是人类社会特有的一种社会现象,所以对法的研究最终不可能不追寻到人的本性.但能作为法律基础的人的本性只是道德性,道德的最高境界是正义,它是一种理想的人际关系和社会制度,在其中人人受到尊重和关爱,人人各尽其能,各得其所.人的行为它必须借助于法律这样的公共权力使一个社会人们的行为保持道德性的一种制度安排.因此,道德性是法律的人性基础,是制定和实施法律的出发点和归宿点.     

企业社会责任的宪法精神解读

宪法总纲确立了国家经济的基本制度,并同时规定,国家加强经济立法,完善宏观控制,依法禁止任何组织或者个人扰乱社会经济秩序。企业作为法律的承担者,必须在法律层面上把法律意识与社会责任意识进行有机结合。弘扬宪法精神的“以德治企”,根本目的是形成“以德治人心,以德治产品,以德治市场,以德治利益”的企业治理机制。弘扬宪法精神,构建和谐社会,企业是关键。企业追求自身利益与履行社会责任的统一,是社会发展对企业的基本要求,也是“以人为本”的宪法精神在市场经济下的最新体现。     

证据关联性规则的价值探析——从路人现象的治理出发

若要从根本上消除路人现象,促进社会公共道德的重建,我国法律必须做必要的改革与完善。美国联邦证据规则之关联性规则,在体现公正、效率的价值之外,还具有公共政策的重要价值。我国有必要尽早借鉴该规则的价值取向,以完善我国证据关联性规则的相关立法。     

民本理念和党执政的合法性基础

以胡锦涛为总书记的新一届中央领导对民本理念十分重视。民本理念是党执政的合法性的必然内容,党所处的历史方位决定坚持民本理念的重要性,党执政方式的转变决定坚持民本理念的现实紧迫性。从社会主义国家的经验教训看,落实民本理念要特别重视民本理念的机制建设。     

Experienced and vicarious victimization: Do social support and self-esteem prevent delinquent responses?

This article extended research that views violent victimization as a stressor that may lead to delinquency. Following general strain theory, the analysis considered the mediating role of fearfulness, depression, and anxiety. The analysis also examined whether social support and self-esteem conditioned the relationship between victimization and delinquency. Results indicated that negative emotions did not substantially mediate the effect of victimization on delinquency. Among those with lower levels of both social support and self-esteem, experiencing violent victimization and witnessing victimization led to general delinquency. Victimization was unrelated to general delinquency among those with higher levels of both these resources. Experiencing victimization led to violent delinquency for all groups. Witnessing victimization and perceiving an unsafe neighborhood led to violent delinquency only among those with lower levels of both resources. Additionally, negative emotions and a bad temper led to violent delinquency only for those low in resources. The results suggested that fostering social support networks and self-esteem among adolescents victimized by violence can limit delinquency.     

Justice and Feelings: Toward a New Era in Justice Research

In this special issue, the relationship between feelings and justice and its consequences are highlighted. Five articles discuss the role that affect, feelings, and emotions play in justice processes across a variety of social settings. In the present introductory article, the position of past and present justice research in relationship to these topics is briefly reviewed. In addition, reasons are outlined to show why a focus on these issues may be pivotal for a better understanding of social justice and how this may pave the way for a new, more process-oriented era in social justice research, focusing more on “hot” cognitive aspects as they pertain to social justice concerns.     

Moore��s Moral Facts and the Gap in the Retributive Theory

The purely retributive moral justification of punishment has a gap at its centre. It fails to explain why the offender should not be protected from punishment by the intuitively powerful moral idea that afflicting another person (other than to avoid a greater harm) is always wrong. Attempts to close the gap have taken several different forms, and only one is discussed in this paper. This is the attempt to push aside the ‘protecting’ intuition, using some more powerful intuition specially invoked by the situations to which criminal justice is addressed. In one aspect of his complex defence of pure retributivism, Michael S. Moore attempts to show that the emotions of well-adjusted persons provide evidence of moral facts which justify the affliction of culpable wrongdoers in retribution for their wrongdoing. In particular, he appeals to the evidential significance of emotions aroused by especially heinous crimes, including the punishment-seeking guilt of the offender who truly confronts the reality of his immoral act. The paper argues that Moore fails to vindicate this appeal to moral realism, and thus to show that intrinsic personal moral desert (as distinct from ‘desert’ in a more restricted sense, relative to morally justified institutions) is a necessary and sufficient basis for punishment. Other theories of the role of emotions in morality are as defensible as Moore’s, while the compelling emotions to which he appeals to clinch his argument can be convincingly situated within a non-retributivist framework, especially when the distinction between the intuitions of the lawless world, and those of the world of law, is recognised.     

试论人民警察职业道德建设中的道德两难问题

人民警察职业道德中的道德两难问题,主要有执法制度化与人性化的抉择、警察公权力与私权利的抉择、警察法定职责与社会角色泛化的抉择。究其原因,主要在于外部社会环境的复杂性、内部组织管理的缺陷及个体执法素质因素三个方面。解决道德两难问题,必须以法律为底线,具体对策包括推动法律与道德相协调、加强宣传舆论改善执法环境、加强警察执法权益的制度保障、加强警用装备设施建设、减少非警务活动、深化执法规范化建设六个方面。