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Moral Intelligence – A Framework for Understanding Moral Competences

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Empirically Informed Ethics: Morality between Facts and Norms

Part of the book series: Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy ((LOET,volume 32))

Abstract

In light of several corporate ethical scandals and the financial crisis many people are asking what can be done to promote moral behavior and to prevent similar transgressions in the future. In this chapter, we argue that beyond cultural and contextual influences, changes do also require agents who are skilled in how to deal with moral issues and how to turn moral standards into actions. In order to specify the abilities that facilitate moral functioning, the present work is designed to put forth a theoretical framework of “Moral Intelligence” which integrates current literature and research on moral decision-making, social cognition and self-regulation theory. The framework’s elementary concepts (which are: the moral compass, moral commitment, moral sensitivity, moral problem solving and moral resoluteness) and the underlying mechanisms are detailed. At the end, the practical value of the advocated model and the question of how to enhance moral intelligence is also briefly discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This construction is somewhat related to the philosophical discussion with respect to moral externalism and internalism (Brink 1997; Simpson 1999)—i.e. the question whether a specific judgment, in order to be called a “moral judgment”, motivates the corresponding action necessarily or only contingently. In our model (Fig. 7.1), motivation mediates between the content (of the moral compass) and the three stages that turn a specified moral stimulus into a moral behavior. This demonstrates a close connection between a moral term and its motivational force, whenever the term may play a role in moral behavior. Our model is neutral towards the conceptual question with respect to internalism and externalism in moral philosophy, but it assigns motivation a distinguished role compared to the other components.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Banking and Finance, Center for Responsibility in Finance, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 32, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland

    Carmen Tanner

  2. Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Pestalozzistrasse 24, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Christen

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  1. Carmen Tanner
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Correspondence to Carmen Tanner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Christen

  2. Anthropological Institute & Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Carel van Schaik

  3. Institute of Social Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Johannes Fischer

  4. University Priority Program Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Huppenbauer

  5. Department of Banking and Finance, Centre for Responsibility in Finance, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Carmen Tanner

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Tanner, C., Christen, M. (2014). Moral Intelligence – A Framework for Understanding Moral Competences. In: Christen, M., van Schaik, C., Fischer, J., Huppenbauer, M., Tanner, C. (eds) Empirically Informed Ethics: Morality between Facts and Norms. Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01369-5_7

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