This thesis deals with two phenomena, compassion and freedom, specifically the concept in the philosophy of A. Schopenhauer and J.-J. Rousseau. We believe that these two themes are essential points of the two philosophical systems. Despite the different contexts, concepts and definitions of the terms, compassion for both philosophers represents a kind of positive ability of human beings (counterweight of the necessary present egoism) from which social virtues and interpersonal relationships arise. Freedom in its largest scale is then the objective of every human being, whether the concept of freedom means anything: positive (possibility of arbitrariness in its natural state, the relative freedom of action) or negative definition of freedom (absence of causality or any form of dependence). The primary objective of this thesis is to outline the possible relations between the two phenomena. It seems that the ability of compassion may potentially be limiting certain forms of human freedom, though such a form of freedom may turn out to be insufficient. It turns out, however, that by using the ability of compassion it is possible to reach the most desirable and liberating freedom.

The Main goal of this thesis is the comparison of fates of the Jewish heroes in the Second world war. I will compare five selected proses written by Arnost Lustig. My focus will be on the fates of the Jewish women during the second world war and how this extreme experience affected their characters and moral believes. The source of the thesis will be the listed primary literature, which was selected to show the uniqueness and individuality of so strong experience, which the second world war and holocaust definitely was. Concurrently, it demonstrates the fact that under influence of their shared fate, are the heroes of the stories in many ways very similar. I will also focus on the questions regarding the dignity and morality and how the Jewish woman deals with their lost of personal and life assurances.

Over the course of history, we have become increasingly aware of values possessed by individuals and collectives alike not to be taken as being beyond all questioning, yet these values are often perceived as inevitable from the perspective of the individual. This gives rise to a conflict eternal and evident throughout social life, in the form of value clashes. Within the framework of the thesis, such conflict is referred to as the meta-crisis. As the, in the West, increasing polarisation and subsequent inability to understand and tolerate individuals whose values clash with out own, revealed as a permeating layer riding along with other ongoing crises. Discussion between individuals possessing different values has the proven potential to mitigate the meta-crisis. However, current spaces for discussion, within meatspace and the virtual alike, are turning excessively prone to producing echo chambers. This echoing characteristic is actively degrading potential discussion into antagonistic conflict furthering the meta-crisis. The Radical Middle sets out to discover the role of architecture and urbanism in preventing echo chambers from occuring in our increasingly pluralistic cities, in setting up clashes between different spaces of logic, and ultimately constructing conditions for perpetually mitigating the accelerating meta-crisis through discussion between different-minded individuals. A set of principles are discovered, including but not limited to how information spreads, an individual's propensity to congregate with like-minded individuals in particular spaces and relationships between class status and living condition as a model for predicting values across averages. The thesis concludes with a theoretical framework for the conceptualization and actualization of the Radical Middle - as a synthesis of its principles, wherein the whole comes to exceed the sum of its parts, perpetually mitigating the meta-crisis both within and without.

Players of an open-world video game are more than merely audience members watching a narrative play out--they actively participate and perform in the world. Drawing from scholars like Edmund Husserl, Konstantin Stanislavski, Ossy Wulansari, and PJ Manney, this paper explores principles of performance, phenomenology, and empathy to examine how open-world role-playing games, specifically Red Dead Redemption II, help players experience empathy. Constructing this experience through character attachment, length of play, and identification in a safe experimental space, these games become a bridge leading to greater empathy for people who are different from the player. The immersive nature of these games provides a suitable area for studying the effects of this media on a player's development of empathy for the character they play, others in the game world, and beyond. This paper focuses on this phenomenon through the player's performance of the main character, Arthur Morgan, and attempts to connect how this experience applies to the real-world building of player empathy.

Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind seeks to explain why it is difficult for liberals and conservatives to get along. His aim is not just explanatory but also prescriptive. Once we understand that the differences between disputants spring from distinct moral views held by equally sincere people, then we will no longer have reason for deep political animus. Conservatives and Liberals have distinct (although somewhat overlapping) moral views and they understand human nature differently. He claims that these differences are best understood by consulting an array of psychological studies, key genetic findings, and the theoretical underpinnings of sociobiology. After summarizing his arguments, we isolate and discuss the three most important and contentious issues in his book. We argue that although the project's motivation is noble and some of his findings are insightful, his key explanations, inferences, and prescriptions are wanting. We end by suggesting a way he could defend a weaker version of his view.

In this essay, Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy is analysed through a moral perspective, with a focus on experimentalism and rationalism as presented by Christopher W. Gowans. Furthermore, the application of the novel and its connection to morality in the EFL classroom is discussed, as well as the possibility of introducing fanfiction in the classroom. The main conclusion that could be drawn is that the same action could be either moral or immoral depending on one’s view of morality. The results also indicate that Rose choosing her duty to Lissa over her love for Dimitri was a morally correct decision though it the morality in her having to choose at all is questionable. Furthermore, the results illustrate that compulsion can be moral or immoral depending on why it is used and that it is difficult for the antagonist to be morally correct. It was also concluded that the novel can act as a buffer between the student and the real world and thereby be a starting point for moral discussions in the classroom.

The aim of this thesis was to deepen our understanding of how audiences represent male and female dark fictional characters (DFCs) by exploring how Harry Potter fans discuss four of these characters on Reddit. Drawing on affective disposition theory as a guiding framework as well as previous investigations of gender representation and online fan cultures, I collected and analyzed 117 posts (containing 9,693 comments) about four DFCs from the Harry Potter franchise. I chose two male DFCs (Lord Voldemort and Severus Snape) and two female ones (Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge) for my investigation. The data were analyzed using a productive hermeneutics approach. Fans’ representation of these characters intersected with the extent which the characters’ fictionality was salient, how they were visualized, the online culture of Reddit, and fans’ presumed identification with these characters. Bellatrix was defined by her portrayal by Helena Bonham Carter in the films and her combination of valuable masculine and feminine traits. Moreover, she was a figure of pure fantasy, which allowed fans to love her depravity. Umbridge and Snape, by contrast, were hated for intruding into the fantasy that Harry Potter offered, reminding fans of bullying and overly controlling teachers. Snape, however, was redeemed by his complexity and embodiment of geek masculinity. Voldemort was valued for his intellect and power but also criticized as a peer failing to rise to his intellectual potential; fans at turns identified with and undercut him through humor. Taken together, the results indicate a need to qualitatively explore how DFCs are received by audiences, as it can add further nuance to our understanding of how morality and gender influence media consumption.

En fixant des normes et des interdits, les valeurs morales participent du bon fonctionnement d'un groupe ou d'une société (Haidt & Kesebir, 2010 ; Janoff-Bulman, Sheikh, & Hepp, 2009). Lorsqu'une norme sociale ou morale est transgressée, l'individu est parfois pris du désir de sanctionner l'auteur de la transgression, même s'il n'en a pas lui-même souffert les conséquences (Chekroun & Brauer, 2008 ; Fehr & Fischbacher, 2004). Ce type de sanction aurait pour fonction de maintenir l'ordre social et la coopération entre les individus (Fehr & Gächter, 2002 ; Ginits, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, & Fehr, 2008 ; Jensen, 2010). Afin de mieux comprendre ce phénomène, nous avons étudié le rôle joué par les valeurs morales dans le déclenchement de ces conduites punitives « désintéressées ». De nombreuses études ont mis en évidence la force motivationnelle dont sont pourvues les valeurs, poussant l'individu à agir en adéquation avec elles (e.g., Hertel & Kerr, 2001 ; Maio, Pakizeh, Cheung, & Rees, 2009). Partant de cet état de fait, nous avons postulé l'existence d'une deuxième composante motivationnelle propre aux valeurs morales, conduisant l'individu à les faire respecter en sanctionnant les personnes qui ne les respectent pas. Nous avons testé dans un premier temps cette hypothèse à travers l'impact du système moral individuel sur le jugement punitif dans le cadre de situations moralement ambivalentes dans lesquelles le protagoniste respectait une valeur morale (e.g., l'équité) aux dépens d'une autre (e.g., la loyauté). Les résultats suggèrent que plus les individus adhèrent à une valeur, plus ils souhaitent voir sanctionnées les personnes transgressant cette valeur. Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié à l'aide de différentes procédures d'amorçage l'influence momentanée que peuvent avoir les valeurs morales sur les tendances punitives lorsque le contexte les rend saillantes. Les effets de l'amorçage spécifique d'une valeur, la loyauté, ont été testés dans le cadre de situations fictives moralement ambivalentes ainsi que dans des conditions écologiques. Les résultats montrent que l'amorçage spécifique de la loyauté entraine une augmentation de la sévérité du jugement punitif ainsi qu'une baisse des tendances prosociales à l'égard d'une personne ayant agi de façon déloyale. L'apparition de ces effets semble néanmoins dépendre du niveau d'implication des individus vis-à-vis de la situation. Ce travail de recherche nous a aussi permis de constater que lorsqu'une valeur est accessible (de façon chronique ou temporaire), l'individu a davantage tendance à percevoir les événements à travers celle-ci. Dans l'ensemble, les résultats obtenus à travers cette série d'études mettent en évidence l'influence exercée par les valeurs morales, liée à leur niveau d'accessibilité et de désirabilité, entrainant les individus à les faire respecter en sanctionnant leurs transgresseurs. / Moral values take part in the effective functioning of a group or society by setting prescriptive and proscriptive norms (Haidt & Kesebir, 2010, Janoff-Bulman, Sheikh, & Hepp, 2009). When witnessing the violation of a social or moral norm, people sometimes wish to punish the transgressor, even if they do not suffer any negative consequences of the violation (Chekroun & Brauer, 2008 ; Fehr & Fischbacher, 2004). The function of this kind of sanction would be an upholding of the social order and cooperation between group members (Fehr & Gächter, 2002 ; Ginits, Henrich, Bowles, Boyd, & Fehr, 2008 ; Jensen, 2010). In order to better understand this phenomenon, we studied how moral values can trigger such third-party punishment. Numerous studies highlight the motivational nature of moral values, driving people to act in line with these ideals (e.g., Hertel & Kerr, 2001 ; Maio, Pakizeh, Cheung, & Rees, 2009). With this in mind, we suggested the existence of a second motivational component, specific to moral values, driving the individual to enforce them by punishing their transgressors. Firstly, we tested this hypothesis through the impact of the individual moral system on punitiveness in morally ambivalent situations describing a protagonist respecting a value (e.g., fairness) at the expense of another (e.g., loyalty). According to the results, the more participants agreed with a value, the more they wanted to see someone who violated the value being punished. Then, we studied the influence exerted by moral values on punitiveness when they are salient within the situation, using different priming procedures. We tested the priming effects of one specific value, loyalty, using morally ambivalent situations and ecological designs. According to the results, priming loyalty led to an increase of punishment severity and to a decrease of prosocial intentions toward a person who didn't act loyally. However, these effects seem to be moderated by the level of personal involvement vis à vis the situation. This research also revealed that when a value is accessible (chronically or temporarily), one tends to perceive the events through the value. All in all, the results gathered through this series of studies reveal the influence exerted by moral values, linked to their levels of accessibility and desirability, which drive people to enforce them by sanctioning their transgressors.

The financial markets have been in a state of chaos for a number of years. Some of the chaos was attributed to appraisers bending under unethical pressure exerted by lenders. The purpose of this study was to explore whether mode of instruction affected appraiser morality when participating in a Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course, as measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). The research question examined the difference between the effect on the morality schema of continuing appraisal students taking the 7-hour USPAP CE course online versus students taking the course in a face-to-face environment. The research consisted of administering the DIT-2 before the USPAP course as a baseline, and then again after the USPAP course to determine if there was a difference in moral outlook. Eight online and 11 face-to-face students completed pre and post DIT-2. MANCOVA determined that there was no significant difference in the post instruction DIT-2 scores between face-to-face and online instruction, controlling for pre instruction score. Further study is recommended with larger sample size and multiple online and face-to-face classes. The results of this research resulted in recommendations to create USPAP courses with ethics components (Appraise Your Ethics). Such courses can be online or face-to-face. The conclusions of this study could lead to enhancements in the design and delivery of the USPAP course, resulting in a positive social change of enhanced appraiser morality and a reduction in unethical behaviors.

Research has shown a relationship between having a strict father upbringing, defined by rules reinforcement and self-discipline beliefs, and the presence of high levels of social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). The relationship between these variables and issue choice has been established, but no study has explored the connection between parental upbringing and moral foundations. Furthermore, the connection to political candidate choice has not been shown. This study investigated the relationship between people's parental upbringing beliefs, their adult morality, and their rating of ideal presidential candidate characteristics. Based on the moral foundation theory, a mixed methods study was conducted to examine the relationship among upbringing, moral foundations, RWA, SDO, socioeconomic status (SES), and candidate selection by surveying 221 adult participants recruited online and in the community. Linear regression analysis was conducted to examine how levels of SDO, RWA, and the strict father variables predict the 5 five moral foundations. Qualitative analysis, through the use of open-ended questions, explored presidential candidate choice by rating people's preference of the 5 moral foundations, the strict father nurturing parent worldviews, SDO, RWA, and subjective SES, as expressed in their ideal president. Results indicated that upbringing is related to RWA for conservatives and inversely related to SDO for liberals. Also, participants exhibited a rules reinforcement versus self-discipline left-right political dichotomy. Participants favored a tough-minded president on foreign affairs. This study's results will enable voters to understand how their political attitudes may be formed and how they could be scrutinized and manipulated by those with an interest in doing so.