Taking Moral Action - (Contemporary Social Issues) by Chuck Huff & Almut Furchert (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Provides a systematic framework for understanding and shaping moral action

Taking Moral Action offers a timely and comprehensive overview of the emerging field of moral psychology, introducing readers to one of the most vibrant areas of research in contemporary psychology. With an inclusive and interdisciplinary approach, authors Chuck Huff and Almut Furchert incorporate a wide range of scholarly traditions, philosophical theories, empirical findings, and practical moral writings to explore the complex network of influences, contexts, and processes involved in producing and structuring moral action.

Integrating key empirical and theoretical literature, this unique volume helps readers grasp the different aspects of both habitual and intentional acts of moral action. Thematically organized chapters examine moral action in contexts such as evolution, moral ecology, personality, moral identity and the self, moral reason, moral emotion, and more. Each chapter features a discussion of how neuroscience underlies or supports the influence and process addressed. Throughout the book, historical stories of moral action and examples of humanistic and experiential traditions of moral formation highlight what is possible, relevant, and appropriate in taking moral action in a variety of settings.

• Explores the relationships between moral psychology, empirical psychology, philosophy, and theology
• Considers the various ways that individuals experience and construct moral identity
• Emphasizes the practical application of the science of morality in service of moral good
• Reviews cultural, organizational, group, and social influences to investigate how individuals actively shape their moral environment
• Discusses the role of emotions in morality and considers if individuals can change or train their emotional responses

Taking Moral Action is essential reading for those new to the field and experienced practitioners alike. Containing extensive references and links to further readings, Taking Moral Action is also an excellent textbook for college and university courses in areas such as psychology, ethics, theology, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience.

From the Back Cover

Why are people good or bad? What motivates moral actors and moral action? What is moral action? Which actions are moral? How do people take moral action and become more or less moral?

Taking Moral Action offers a timely and comprehensive overview of the emerging field of moral psychology, introducing readers to one of the most vibrant areas of research in contemporary psychology. With an inclusive and interdisciplinary approach, authors Chuck Huff and Almut Furchert incorporate a wide range of empirical findings, scientific theory, and their interconnections with philosophical and theological approaches. This allows them to systematically explore the complex network of influences, contexts, and processes involved in producing and structuring moral action.

• Offers a framework of the variation in ways that individuals experience and construct moral identity and engage in moral action and formation
• Reviews cultural, organizational, group, and social influences to explore how individuals actively shape their moral environment
• Discusses the integration of reason and emotion in morality and considers how individuals can change or train their moral responses and skills
• Explores the relationships among empirical psychology, philosophy, and theology mapping out the interdisciplinary field of moral psychology
• Emphasizes the practical application of the science of morality in service of moral good

Integrating key empirical and theoretical literature, this unique volume helps readers grasp the different aspects of both habitual and intentional moral action. Thematically organized chapters examine moral action in contexts like evolution, neuroscience, and moral ecology; in influences of personality, moral identity, and moral skills; and processes of moral reason, moral emotion, and moral formation. Throughout the book, narratives of moral action and humanistic and experiential traditions of moral formation illustrate the wide variety and complexity underlying moral psychology.

Taking Moral Action is essential reading for those new to the field and experienced practitioners alike. Containing extensive references and links to further readings, Taking Moral Action is also an excellent textbook for college and university courses in areas such as psychology, ethics, theology, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience and in applied fields where moral action is important.

Review Quotes

Dan Perlman, Social Psychology, U. Winnipeg: An erudite, tour de force covering the range of contexts and processes influencing moral action. It draws on multiple intellectual traditions (psychology, philosophy, religious studies) and offers penetrating insights and critical reflections on the literature in every chapter.

Dan McAdams, Personality Psychology, Northwestern U.: This is a remarkable book. I have never seen anything on this topic that is so broad and thorough. The level of detail is extraordinary.

William Frey, Philosophy, Applied Ethics, U. Puerto Rico: A comprehensive summary of contemporary research in psychology and the humanities pertinent to moral expertise and moral action, indispensable for teachers of practical and professional ethics.

John Davenport, Philosophy, Virtue Ethics, Fordham U.: A masterpiece, one of the most important works in moral psychology in two decades. It synthesizes insights from different fields, all bearing on moral motivation and action, in a broader way than I have ever seen before.

Christian Miller, Philosophy, Virtue Ethics, Wake Forest U. Unparalleled in its range of topics covered, in its mastery of a vast empirical literature, and in its interdisciplinary engagement with philosophy, theology, history, education, and other fields. There is no doubt that Huff and Furchert have written the most comprehensive and interdisciplinary treatment of moral psychology in decades.

About the Author

CHUCK HUFF is Professor of Psychology and Computer Science at St. Olaf College, MN, where he teaches courses in social psychology, ethical issues in software design, the psychology of good and evil, and the psychology of religion. He has published quantitative and qualitative research on moral psychology, the ethical design of software, gender and computing, and digital ethics. His articles have appeared in computer science, education, philosophy, psychology, and sociology journals.

ALMUT FURCHERT is a German philosopher and psychologist in independent practice with expertise in existential, phenomenological, and hermeneutic traditions. She has published internationally in the intersection of philosophy, psychology, theology, and the caring professions, and has held academic positions at the Jesuit School of Philosophy in Munich, the Technical University of Munich, and the Hong Kierkegaard Research Library at St Olaf College. She is also a member of the Hildegard of Bingen Academy in Eibingen, Germany.