Morality and the good life

Being moral sometimes handicaps decent people in their pursuit of worthwhile goals. This is especially likely to happen when those with power in society have badly mistaken ideas about what morality requires. A good person might not last long in a bad society.

'The Morality of Mrs Dulska' by Gabriela Zapolska. Translated and directed by Teresa Murjas.

The Morality of Mrs. Dulska by Gabriela Zapolska. Translated and directed by Teresa Murjas. Performed at University of Reading (3 - 6 December 2003, 5 public performances) Polish Theatre (POSK), London (17 - 19 January 2004, 4 public performances)

From ape empathy to human morality?

The idea that empathy provides an important developmental precursor to moral decision making possesses significant conceptual appeal. However, the idea of a necessary, diachronic relation between empathy and morality has been rejected recently (by Prinz 2011, amongst others). This paper reassesses the strength of the claim that empathy is developmentally necessary for (at least some forms of) morality and argues that the position remains a live possibility.

Self-licensing and financial rewards: is morality for sale?

This paper studies the impact of financially rewarding good deeds on self-licensing. We run a between-subjects experiment comprised of an adapted dictator game preceded by paid and unpaid pro-environmental tasks. We find that prefacing the dictator game with an unpaid good deed seems to establish a 'moral rectitude' which licenses subsequent selfish behaviour, whereas a paid good deed dampens this effect. Interestingly, the nature of the initial task has more of an effect on the binary option (give vs. not give) than on the amount donated.

The morality of the everyday: an initial step towards a research strategy

This paper attempts to problematise morality and to locate and investigate morality as an everyday activity. The paper draws extensively on the work of Zygmunt Bauman on the Holocaust and the challenges the Holocaust makes to social theory and to ethics. Following Bauman and Giddens, I argue that morality is pre-social and forms part of the social world in which we live and that it cannot and should not be codified. Some implications for future research on the morality of the everyday are made.

Euthanasia, morality and the law

"This book assesses the desirability of legalising euthanasia. From the ethical perspective, euthanasia raises many important issues including the right to life, the right to liberty, the avoidance of unnecessary pain, the appropriate allocation of medical resources, and the rights and duties of doctors. Other relevant considerations include the improving standard of palliative care and the "slippery slope" argument. The central arguments for and against euthanasia are evaluated against the background of the leading contemporary moral theories. The book seeks to cut through the rhetoric that has become a feature of the debate and asks whether there is a sound reason for denying the wishes of individuals who express their wish to die."