Two main problems in the sociology of morality

Abstract

Sociologists often ask why particular groups of people have the moral views that they do. I argue that sociology's empirical research on morality relies, implicitly or explicitly, on unsophisticated and even obsolete ethical theories, and thus is based on inadequate conceptions of the ontology, epistemology, and semantics of morality. In this article I address the two main problems in the sociology of morality: (1) the problem of moral truth, and (2) the problem of value freedom. I identify two ideal-typical approaches. While the Weberian paradigm rejects the concept of moral truth, the Durkheimian paradigm accepts it. By contrast, I argue that sociology should be metaphysically agnostic, yet in practice it should proceed as though there were no moral truths. The Weberians claim that the sociology of morality can and should be value free; the Durkheimians claim that it cannot and it should not. My argument is that, while it is true that factual statements presuppose value judgments, it does not follow that sociologists are moral philosophers in disguise. Finally, I contend that in order for sociology to improve its understanding of morality, better conceptual, epistemological, and methodological foundations are needed.The sociology of morality is the sociological investigation of the nature, causes, and consequences of people's ideas about the good and the right. Even though the expression "sociology of morality" designates no ASA section or academic journal, investigations of this sort stand at the core of several subfields, such as gender, culture, theory, and religion. In fact, most if not all sociologists -be their interest the family, organizations, social movements, inequality, etc. -have asked why particular groups of people have the moral views that they do, and what are the effects of these views on behavior, interaction, structure, change, and institutions. 1

‘Moral ecology’ and ‘moral capital’: tools towards a sociology of moral education from a South African ethnography

“…It is only in the past 15 years, however, that a growing call for a systematic sociology of morality has emerged (see, for example, Stivers, 1996;Thiele, 1996;Davydova & Sharrock, 2003;Pharo, 2005;Zdrenka, 2006;Abend, 2008;Ignatow, 2009;Swartz, 2009;Kang & Glassman, 2010). Amongst these, Abend (2008), argues for sociological inquiry into morality focused on 'empirical accounts of people's moral beliefs, and their causes and consequences' (p. 120); Pharo (2005), drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's (1997) social and cultural reproduction theory, argues that the concept of choice, prevalent in conventional moral discourses, be replaced by an analysis of 'social settings [that] do not depend on agents' decisions…[but on] situations like scarcity of goods, lack of political liberty, sexual oppression, restriction of social perspectives' (no page numbers on text); and Thiele (1996) advocates a sociology of morality that investigates the origins and 'disputes' concerning moral authority' (p. 7).…”

Virtual money, practices and moral orders in Second Life

“…Moral boundary drawing through money practices reveals regimes of worth (Boltanski and Thévenot 2006) and hierarchies of value and disgust. Weber ([1930]2001), Simmel ([1907Simmel ([ ]1978 and Marx ([1867]1906) linked monies with moralities in their accounts of 19th century capitalism (Powell 2010 andAbend 2008), and this tradition continues in Zelizer's (1996Zelizer's ( , 1997Zelizer's ( , 2005) work on earmarking and Dodd's (1994) and Hart's (1986Hart's ( , 2000 emphasis on money and social inequalities. Yet what has been missing in economic sociology are concepts that explain how monies -or other economic categories -produce and maintain moral orders.…”

“…My secondary aim is a proof by example that economic sociology and the sociology of morality are an analytically useful combination deserving further exploration. Recently there has been renewed sociological interest in morality (Abend 2008;Hitlin and Vaisley 2010;Sayer 2005aSayer , 2005b, but beyond Zelizer's (1997Zelizer's ( , 2005 work on families and intimacies, economic sociology has maintained an arm's length relationship with questions of economy and moral order (Massengill and Reynolds 2010:486). Through an analysis of moral boundary drawing using virtual money practices in Second Life, this paper contributes to efforts in economic sociology and anthropology to elucidate -through empirically grounded examples -money's moral and political entanglements.…”

“…Without entering into debates about differing historical approaches to morality in sociology (see Abend 2008;Powell 2010) I follow Abend's (2008:87) conception:…”

Ethical Considerations in Global Multi-Stakeholder Work Contexts

“…There is general agreement among sociologists and anthropologists that ethical ideas, beliefs, views, or judgments and the practices that accompany them derive from general social practices and accords, or to say it another way, are "socially constructed" (Abend 2008). Why particular groups of people have the moral views that they do, and what the effects of these views are on behavior, interaction, structure, change, and institutions is a dominant topic of ethnographic work.…”