Social and Moral Responsibility

The Concept of Morality

There is no doubt that the concept of morality is disputed, but Wilson (1990) reminds us that there is a difference between words and concepts. While ‘moral’ may mean different things in different contexts, the concept of morality is common. Hersch et al (1980) state that morality has three elements : caring (involving social motivation and social knowledge); judging (making judgements about competing moral issues in relation to a consistent moral principle); acting (an action not being moral or immoral in itself but dependent on the caring and judging it is based on).

However, defining morality is complex and Wilson draws on Plato and Aristotle’s deliberations to suggest that ‘the central use of ‘moral’ refers to a certain set of underlying dispositions, to the basic ecology….of human desires, emotions and deeds.’ (p82) Wilson goes on to argue that morality is not something we can accept or reject as suggested by Warnock (1971) because it underpins all human activities, even those concerned with non-moral issues.

Eshelman (2004) states than any theory of moral responsibility should discuss the concept of moral responsibility; the criteria for being a moral agent; the conditions under which moral responsibility is properly applied (where an agent has acted with free will and is able to make choices) and ‘objects of responsibility ascriptions’ (those things that we can ascribe moral responsibility to such as actions or non-actions).

A key part of this discussion is how morality can be determined. Concerns about determining the moral virtues have given way to focusing on trying to determine what is moral behaviour and what is not and criteria or principles for determining what is right and what is wrong. These questions have a different significance since the hegemony of the church in determining absolute moral values gave way to more individualistic and subjective views of values during the Reformation (Carr, 1999). Subsequent theories of morality focus more on the role of moral reasoning in achieving human goals rather than any absolute concept of moral values.

As such, normative ethical theories emerged, dealing with efforts to determine how right and wrong can be classified and translated into rules for human conduct. Consequentialist theories hold that it is the consequences of an action that determine its morality, not the character of the action itself. So the morality of an action is determined retrospectively, based on the outcomes of the action, and a morally positive action is one that produces good consequences (Eshelmen, 2004).  Utilitarians such as Bentham and Mills saw morality in consequential terms by suggesting morally good acts were those that brought the greatest good to the greatest number, with no other criteria for judging the worth of moral values than this.

Deontological theories focus on the morality of an action as inherent in the act itself and not in the outcomes of that act. Locke’s theory that humans have inalienable natural rights, which determine codes of social behaviour exemplifies this. Locke argued that breaches of these inalienable rights would be classified as ‘wrong’ and upholding these rights would be classified as ‘right’, regardless of outcome. Kant also focused on the morality of action themselves rather than outcomes, arguing that moral acts

are what any rational being could envisage as being universal moral laws, following on from Hobbe’s assertion that moral behaviour is that which unbiased others would agree was moral. Kant suggested that the test for the morality of an action was the categorical imperative i.e. that any such action could become a universal moral law. If this should not be the case, then the action would not be seen as moral.

The issue that arises from both these theoretical bases is the implication that a value judgement about what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’ or what is a ‘good’ outcome or a ‘bad’ outcome has to be made. This begs the question as to whether all assumptions of morality are subjective and relative. Ayer (1948) argues that there is no ‘truth value’ to moral statements as they merely reflect the individuals’ moral beliefs and are entirely subjective. He suggested that moral discussion focuses on the advisability of accepting or rejecting an action or viewpoint but ‘discredits the logical authority of moral statements because the criteria for logical verification cannot be established.’ (McPhail, 1982:21).  If we, then, reject the existence of universal moral laws, then are all moral standpoints individually or socially determined within specific cultural contexts? If this is the case, then the promotion of morality through education could be viewed as part of the socialisation of an individual into a group (community) by inculcating a particular culturally determined view or perspective of what morality is. Is morality therefore nothing more than a collection of cultural norms to be passed on to new citizens-in-the making? And as such, is moral education merely a process by which these cultural norms are passed on to citizens-to-be to ensure their social compliance? McPhail (1982) argues that morality can stand beyond the social norms and therefore include both inculcation into these norms and evaluation and criticism of these. However, this discussion brings us back to the basic question of why we should be moral in terms of concern for others and their needs, and whether incentives to morality are intrinsic or relate to personal gratification or gain.

Determining what is moral is one significant aspect of the debate, but another rests on the notion of whether individuals can be moral. The concept of moral responsibility rests on the idea that individuals can be held responsible for their actions and therefore be judged as to the morality of these. This presupposes that individuals are free to make choices about their actions. One of the problematical issues in discussing moral responsibility is the extent to which this is the case. Can we really be held morally responsible for our actions? The notion of being responsible or being held responsible implies that the individual can make choices and decisions unencumbered and without duress, in fact, by exercising free will.

The extent to which free will actually exists has occupied philosophers from ancient Greece onwards. The concept of free will was acknowledged in early Greek texts in terms of ascribing praise or blame to actions and acknowledging that some actions were free of praise or blame (excused) because they were coerced, as the agent’s freedom to choose had been compromised (Eshelmen, 2004). Aristotle theorised that moral responsibility can be judged in individuals who are moral agents and who are able to act voluntarily. Moral agents are those who have the capacity to

make deliberate decisions about their actions, based on their concept of what is ‘good’. Voluntary action implies that the agent chooses to act and is aware of their actions. Eshelman (2004) suggests an ambiguity in Aristotle’s theory, based on the appropriateness of judging others behaviour as moral. He argues that this ambiguity centres round whether Aristotle’s view of moral responsibility is merit-based (praise or blame given because the agent deserves this) or consequentialist (praise or blame given because it may bring about improvements in the agent’s behaviour or character). However, the key theme is the extent to which free will exists and whether the presence or absence of free will determines the ability to act morally.

Hard determinists argue that free will is impossible in a world where events and actions are causally determined by a chain of prior occurrences, bringing into question the ability of individuals to make rational and free choices about their actions. Without free will, the individual cannot be held morally responsible for actions that are pre-determined and outside that individual’s control. The debate about whether the concepts of free will and determinism can be held simultaneously has dominated discussion about whether humans can be held responsible for their actions. Compatibilists argue that these two apparently opposing concepts can be reconciled as behaviour needs to be determined, rather than random, for the actor to be held responsible for it. Free will is dependent on choices being deliberately and consciously made and the existence of choice, in that the actor could have acted otherwise than they did. The question then arises as to whether free will does exist. Can individuals really make choices and act freely? Sartre theorised that freedom of choice and action are the only criteria for moral behaviour. He argued that there can be no guidance or prescription for moral behaviour and choices, but that the individual acts morally if they choose their actions freely. Sartre distinguishes his views not by emphasising free choice as a central tenet of morality, but because he considered this was a sufficient criteria. Straughan (1982) suggests that while a single criteria such as this is ‘undemanding’ in terms of defining morality, Sartre’s focus on the individual’s own unsupported and undirected responsibility for his morality leaves a vacuum in determining how we grow into moral agents or begin to understand morality. However, Straughan also argues that in fact Sartre’s theory is based in, but ignores, existing social frameworks that support the development of morality.

Honderich (1988) adopts a deterministic stance but argues that the compatibilism/incompatibilism argument is not the only way of assessing the impact of determinism on the concept of free will. He suggests that moral responsibility depends on our attitudes to others actions, which involve aesthetic attitudes relating to our withdrawal from repugnant behaviour and retributive attitudes, which relate to our desire to disapprove, blame or punish this behaviour. However, we cannot sustain retributive attitudes if we do not believe others are responsible for their behaviours. As such, Honderich suggest two models of moral responsibility. If we are able to make choices and are responsible for these (voluntariness and origination) then we have free will but this is incompatible with determinism. If we are

only able to make choices but cannot be responsible for these (voluntariness only) then we have free will that is compatible with determinism.

Honderich (1988) argues the significance of consequentialism, suggesting through his ‘Principle of Humanity’ that morality is associated with behaviour that helps others out of ‘bad’ lives. Morality is therefore linked to our actions or omissions in terms of this process as we have moral responsibility for ‘bad’ lives. Decision-making on whether an action is moral or not should be based on the consequences of that action only (Anscombe, 1958). This begs the question of how the morality of specific actions can be judged in terms of consequences as these may be different for different individuals, groups or communities affected by such actions. Raillon (1984) argues that there can be tension between the individuals’ interests and the interests of the community in determining the morality of an action, where the outcomes differ for each. He suggests that individuals will be more concerned with the outcomes for themselves and those close to them than they will for the wider community. Downie (1964) also suggested that the extent of moral responsibility may be determined according to the social roles that individual adopt within their social context. Social roles may impact on the individual’s freedom to act from choice. For example, an individual may choose not to kill another human as part of their freely chosen moral behaviour, but may kill others in the social role of a combatant in war.

Strawson (1974) also suggest that social contexts are important for our understandings of moral responsibility, in terms of the significance of interpersonal relationships to the extent to which we hold others morally responsible. Strawson argued that we cannot hold others to be morally responsible because of their being morally responsible. Our attitudes to holding others morally responsible are not value free but dependent on our subjective views of what that person’s behaviour means in terms of their attitudes to us- our reactions to whether this behaviour indicated good will or otherwise towards us. Strawson described this response as a participant reactive attitude. However, this attitude can be suspended and a more objective stance taken if we do not believe that the other is fully part of the social and moral community (such as young children, mentally ill people). Strawson argues that judgements about moral responsibility are dependent on the reactive attitude to the others behaviour, rather than on our belief that the other is morally responsible. However, Wilson (1990) suggests that Strawson makes too much of the link between morality and action, although the distinction between individual and social moral needs is relevant.

Eshelman (2004) suggests that the most recent views on morality focus on responsibility as attributability and responsibility as accountability. Attributability is related to the notion of self and accountability to the concept of moral responsibility in a social context so that behaviour is ‘governed by an interpersonal normative standard of conduct that creates expectations between members of a shared community.’ Within this concept, holding someone responsible is essentially a social act, based on belonging to a shared moral community. Moral responsibility can be seen in this context as the extent to which individuals support or undermine the

well-being of the community, suggesting that morality is indeed a culturally-determined set of norms and conformity to these is moral behaviour. This view is contested on the basis that we must not equate social conformity with morality, because one of the key aspects of developing morality is the development of moral reasoning.

These debates reflect the uncertainties about how moral and social responsibility can be conceptualised and promoted within modern societies. Adrift from moral certainties and wary of merely promoting dominant cultural norms, the role of moral reasoning and the ability to rationally choose between moral values is forefronted, but leaves us with a concern that such choices may lack a coherent value-base or ‘morality’. The debate leaves us with the question as to how we promote moral and social responsibility in young people as part of their learning in higher education in ways that promote moral reasoning but also develop values and ethical stances that go beyond, and can contest, the social norms of the times.