Does autonomous moral reasoning favor consequentialism?

This paper addresses an important issue that has been commonly debated in moral psychology, namely the normative and metaethical implications of our differing intuitive responses to morally indistinguishable dilemmas. The prominent example of the asymmetry in our responses is that people often intuitively accept pulling a switch and deny pushing as a morally permissible way of sacrificing an innocent person to save more innocent people. Joshua Greene traces our negative responses to actions involving “up close and personal” harm back to our evolutionary past and argues that this undermines the normative power of deontological judgments. I reject Greene’s argument by arguing that our theoretical moral intuitions, as opposed to concrete and mid-level ones, are independent of direct evolutionary influence because they are the product of autonomous (gene-independent) moral reasoning. I then explain how both consequentialist and deontological theoretical intuitions, which enable us to make important moral distinctions and grasp objective moral facts, are produced by the exercise of autonomous moral reasoning and the process of cultural evolution. My conclusion will be that Greene is not justified in his claim that deontology is normatively inferior to consequentialism.

Socially dangerous consequences of persistent failure to perform duties related to the care of a child or a person under guardianship or in the custody (Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)

The article is devoted to the study of socially dangerous consequences persistent failure to perform duties related to the care of a child or a person under guardianship or in the custody. Тhey are formulated as serious consequences іn Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The article analyzes and reveals this concept, which is evaluative and needs to be established in each case. The types of consequences covered by this concept are clarified. In particular, the material consequences include physical (personal) harm, namely: impaired spiritual, social, intellectual or emotional development of the child, impaired physical or mental development of the child, severe, moderate or minor injuries that caused short-term health disorders or insignificant loss of ability to work of a child or a person with limited capacity (incapacity), their death, suicide or attempted suicide, unknown absence. Intangible consequences include violation of the right of a child and a person declared incapable or partially incapable to housing and sexual integrity. The case law on the application of Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (2010-2021). It has been found that the concept of «serious consequences» covers a wide range of types of socially dangerous consequences. It is established that as a result of commission of this crime damage is caused to public relations which are various on degree of significance. It is proposed to improve the responsibility for commission of the crime under Art. 166 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely to clarify the types of consequences and to differentiate such responsibilities.

Analysis of Major Jerzy Sosnowski’s letters to his father against the background of the criminal trial before the Military District Court No. I in Warsaw

The study presents the contents of the letters from the private archive of Major Jerzy Sosnowski, a Polish military intelligence officer operating in Berlin in 1926-1934. The letters are addressed to his father and come from 1937 and 1938. The text presents Major Sosnowski’s profile. Then the circumstances in which the letters were written and their meaning are discussed. Their content was analyzed against the background of the criminal trial before the Military District Court No. I in Warsaw and regarding the current state of knowledge about Major Sosnowski’s fate from crossing the German-Polish border in April 1936 until the sentence in June 1939. The content of the letters proves their author’s personal harm and violations of the law preceding criminal proceedings before the Polish military court, and to some extent, also provide insight into the trial for which the primary sources (court records) have not been preserved.

What’s Pain Got To Do With It?: Young Adults With and Without Chronic Pain Perceive Minimal Risks and Moderate Benefits from Cannabis Use

Many young adults experience chronic pain and given its wide availability and potential pain reducing properties, young adults may use cannabis to self-medicate for pain. However, little is known about young adult users’ perceptions of potential health risks and benefits of cannabis, and whether these perceptions differ by chronic pain status. As a part of a larger study, young adult recreational cannabis users (N=176, ages 18-29) who reported using at least once a week completed assessments of use frequency and perceived cannabis-related risks and benefits. The sample had a high proportion of participants who met criteria for chronic pain (51.1%). The majority of the sample reported using daily or multiple times daily (80.7%) with an average of 2.68 (SD=1.42) sessions per day across administration modes (e.g. smoking, edibles, tinctures). Participants answered questions about their lifetime chances of experiencing five cannabis-related risks (personal harm, negative health outcome, negative mental health outcome, harming someone else, increased pain) and benefits (personal benefit, positive health outcome, positive mental health outcome, benefitting someone else, decreased pain; 1=Very low to 7=Very high). Overall, young adult users perceived their risk to be very low (M=1.62, SD=.73) and 40.3% of the sample had an average risk score (combined across the five risk items) of 1.00, while only one participant reported an average risk above 4.00. In particular, participants reported a low lifetime chance of experiencing personal harm (M=1.51, SD=.90), harming someone else (M=1.20, SD=.58), or experiencing increased pain (M=1.24, SD=.74) due to their cannabis use. In contrast, young adult users perceived somewhat high chances of experiencing benefits related to their cannabis use (M=4.78, SD=1.46). In particular, participants perceived a high chance of experiencing reduced pain (M=5.88, SD=1.55), personal benefit (M=4.84, SD=1.86), and positive mental health outcomes (M=4.82, SD=1.77). There was no difference based on pain status on frequency of use, average daily sessions, or perceived risks, and only one difference in perceived benefits. Participants without chronic pain anticipated more personal benefit from cannabis use (M=5.15, SD=1.74) than those with chronic pain (M=4.53, SD=1.94, t(171)=2.21, p=.03). Overall, results suggest young adult recreational users perceive very low risks of their cannabis consumption and moderately high benefits, regardless of pain status. Looking at individual areas of potential risk and benefits may yield targets for future health education campaigns. For example, perceptions of low risk/high benefits regarding mental health outcomes may not be accurate for this heavy using sample.

The Ragged Edge of Rugged Individualism: Wage Theft and the Personalization of Social Harm

Every year, millions of low-wage workers suffer wage theft when their employers refuse to pay them what they have earned. Wage theft is both prevalent and highly impactful. It costs individuals thousands each year in unpaid earnings, siphons tens of billions of dollars from low-income communities, depletes the government of necessary resources, distorts the competitive labor market, and causes significant personal harm to its victims. In recent years, states and cities have passed new laws to attack the problem. These legal changes are important. They are also, broadly speaking, failing the people they are supposed to protect. This Article fills a significant gap in the literature by detailing the full scope of damage caused by wage theft and by critically examining the dominant approach to combatting it. Drawing on existing research and nearly 60 in-depth interviews about wage theft in the District of Columbia, this Article paints a thorough picture of wage theft’s harms, explores why and how existing reforms are failing, and explains what must be done instead. Enforcement schemes reflect the current view that wage theft is a personal harm properly addressed on a case-by-case basis in the civil justice system. As a result, reforms—both as written and implemented—generally attempt to empower and incentivize individuals to action. These approaches are failing. They misunderstand what wage theft is, how it plays out, and how it must be addressed. Wage theft is not an individual problem, but a social harm, and it therefore requires a broad, public response. Because low-wage workers live economically precarious lives and are so dependent on their jobs to survive, they almost never take formal legal action over violations of their rights. Government bodies cannot continue to rely on workers themselves to enforce their rights, but must take on a new role as robust, active, and strategic enforcers. Unless and until they do, millions of people will continue to suffer violations of their basic workplace rights with no meaningful recourse.

Unmasked: A comparative analysis of the physician’s ethical and legal duty to treat during a pandemic

For the first time in over a hundred years, the world faces a devastating pandemic. Millions have been infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 virus and thousands have died. Unprecedented global shortages of protective equipment have resulted in the infection and death of healthcare workers. The legal and ethical duty of a doctor to treat during a pandemic has evolved over time, shaped by legislation and ethical guidance following SARS and the September 11 terrorism attacks. A positive ethical obligation to treat is arguably outweighed by the inability to meet occupational safety standards and high risk of personal harm, in addition to a physician’s competing duties to future patients, their families and colleagues. Nevertheless, individuals who continue working should be acknowledged by society with accessible worker’s compensation, alternative accommodation, hazard pay and student debt forgiveness so that healthcare workers continue to serve patients, answering far beyond the call of duty.

Ethical research in the secondary school classroom

Two key ethical principles of research in the secondary school classroom are voluntary participation and informed consent. Voluntary participation is the principle that participants should be able to freely choose whether or not they participate in the research, in any way, big or small (Mutch, 2005). Informed consent is the principle that the participants should be thoroughly and accurately informed of the purpose, processes and dissemination of the findings of the research, and give their consent accordingly (Mutch, 2005). Ethical principles have been established by research institutions, such as universities, to ensure that participants in educational research are not treated as passive objects by the researcher (Snook, 2003), and so that no personal harm results from the research process. This article will discuss these two ethical principles, and examine two research scenarios in secondary schools where ethical dilemmas arise. Potential ways to address these ethical concerns and minimise risk are explored, with a view to encouraging teacher reflection and consideration of research situations that may require the voluntary participation and informed consent of secondary school students in classrooms.

Valuation mechanisms in moral cognition

May cites a body of evidence suggesting that participants take consequences, personal harm, and other factors into consideration when making moral judgments. This evidence is used to support the conclusion that moral cognition relies on rule-based inference. This commentary defends an alternative interpretation of this evidence, namely, that it can be explained in terms of domain general valuation mechanisms.