Respectful Agents: Between the Scylla and Charybdis of Cultural and Moral Incapacity

Emotional Reactions and Moral Judgment: The Effects of Morally Challenging Interactions in Military Operations

“…The present study suggests that experiencing emotions and using different response strategies is not exclusive to local cultural morally challenging interactions but is also related to other types of morally challenging interactions. Until now, intercultural (problematic) interactions had received little attention (e.g., Schut & Moelker, 2014). Our study suggests that interactions, for example, within work units or between family members can also become morally challenging.…”

“…In relation with local cultural interactions, servicemen express that they find themselves in a different culture where they should respect common traditions. However, doing so may lead to what Schut and Moelker (2014) referred to as "moral incapacity," because one's own values are sidelined or neglected in that situation. Also, the response strategies moral justification, numbing and relativism showed a strong relationship with local cultural and team-related morally challenging interactions.…”

Interpreting ethical challenges in military operations

“…After all, such insensitivity may lead to moral blindness: a 'normalization' of or inattentiveness for actions that are morally reprehensible. Such moral incapacity -i.e., not acting when individuals normally think they ought to -is also found in other studies in relation with cultural critical situations (e.g., Schut & Moelker, 2015). In one of the interviews, a Dutch platoon commander described how he justified his failure to answer with an adequate intervention in a situation where humaneness was at stake for local children, as they were being abused by adults of their village.…”

“…Especially when focusing on issues and experiences that are considered to be part of the 'grey-zone' (i.e., those situations of which individuals are uncertain about their personal accountability and the righteousness of their actions), it is very difficult to be sure about the accuracy of the servicemen's stories. As other recent studies conducted in European military organizations show similar ethical challenges (e.g., Schut & Moelker, 2015;Van Baarle, Bosch, Widdershoven, Verweij & Molewijk, 2015), we considered the material relevant for first explorations of individual moral assessment.…”