THEORIES FOR ANALYZING MORAL CONFLICT
We look at moral conflict using three overlapping theoretical lenses: the first lens views moral conflict as a form of intractable conflict (Coleman, 2003; Pearce and Littlejohn, 1997); the second is the lens of social construction theory, which suggests that we create social meaning in the context of relationships (Gergen and Gergen, 2004); and the third lens takes a communication approach to social construction theory suggesting that we create and perpetuate meaning in our communication processes, the ongoing back-and-forth of social discourse and communication events (Pearce, 1989; Shotter, 1993).
All three perspectives share the same intellectual ancestry as well as a few basic assumptions. Many of the forefathers of social psychology such as Hegel, Marx, Weber, Dewey, and Mead anticipated the socially constructed nature of historical reality and the ways in which individual representations and collective representations are dialectically intertwined (Jost and Kruglanski, 2002). The work of Piaget emphasized the way that children develop by constructing a shared reality in the context of social interactions. In addition, classic works in sociology by Goffman (1959) and Berger and Luckmann (1966) highlighted issues of construction and meaning making. Such developments led Markus and Zajonc (1985) to state “the hallmark of the cognitive perspective in social psychology is the constructive nature of social cognition” (pp. 212-213). Thus, meaning from a social constructionist perspective is continuously emerging, is contextually based, and is influenced by and influences the dynamics of the relationship. Moral conflict, from the social constructionist perspective, is a consequence of what and how meaning is created in relationships, whatever the outcome. Throughout our discussion, we ground the definition of moral conflict in examples that frequently surface in the public arena.
More on the topic THEORIES FOR ANALYZING MORAL CONFLICT:
- THEORIES FOR ANALYZING MORAL CONFLICT
- SUBJECT INDEX
- Conclusion: Emerging Problems in Theory and Practice
- Frame Analysis
- Communication as an Interpretive Approach
- References
- References
- References
- EARLY CHILDHOOD
- References
-
Conflictology -
Ecology -
Economy -
Finance -
History -
Law -
Medicine -
Philosophy -
Religious studies -