Philosophers usually seek for and justify moral and political orders by two methodologies. Rationalism claims that social organization of human beings should fit with human nature, and believes that a predefined conception of human nature, defined in terms of human capacities for the exercise of reason, can be established as the independent criterion for choosing and justifying the proper moral and political order. Institutionalism, on the other hand, believes that human nature is at least significantly shaped by the actual construction of moral and political orders by human beings, and by internalizing the social institutions in which they live, they create themselves. In this essay, I argue that rationalism is not a good methodology because it does not reflect the correct relationship between human beings and their institutional life. I will develop a philosophical theory of institutionalism, and argue that an institutionalist justification of the ideal of liberal democracy will encourage a political development towards liberalization and democratization. I will also argue that Rawls‘s justification of liberal democracy is such an institutionalist justification, and although it might seem to suggest otherwise, it not only speaks to citizens of western democracies, but also speaks to all moral persons from all other societies. The political development towards liberalization and democratization is a normative demand for any human society, if such a society strives to be a well-ordered society with long term legitimacy and stability. The exact degree of liberalization and democratization for any particular society will depend on the available means of communication and organization, but the normative demand for such a political development is present in every human society. Institutionalism represents human freedom in human beings‘ creation and justification of social institutions, which are man-made rules and norms aimed at guaranteeing social order among interacting human agents. As a ―liberalism of freedom,‖ institutionalism is therefore committed to a highest ideal of human institution building: institutions of a society should be justified to, and be obeyed by, all the members of this society, so that such a society is a political autonomy. In these terms, Rawls‘s justification of liberal democracy, although dependent on a public political culture of modern western democracies, is nevertheless not limited to this context. As an instantiation of institutionalism, Rawls‘s theory has a dimension of universalism. Ultimately, Rawls‘s justification of liberal democracy encourages every other human society on this earth to develop towards the ideal of liberal democracy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of History, August, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Philosophy, June 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Admin.(Public Administration))- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the impact of departmental ethical climate (climate) and primary student-faculty relationship (support) on graduate student stress (stress). Participants included 231 full-time doctoral-level counseling and clinical psychology graduate students who were recruited via email. It was hypothesized that climate and support would predict stress, with each of these variables having an inverse relationship with stress. It was also predicted that support would moderate the relationship between climate and stress. A model was constructed representing these hypotheses and structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze the data. Initial analyses indicated that the hypothesized model did not adequately represent the data; however, these analyses did render a reduced model that offered a better fit to the data. Analysis of the hypothesized model did not confirm the moderation effect of support. Analysis of the reduced model suggested that climate and support, together, accounted for a significant amount of variance (25%) in stress. Further examination indicated that, when considered individually, only the relationship between climate and stress was significant. The limitations and implications of these results are discussed.

The main concern of this dissertation is exploring and elucidating the nature and the relationship of religion/spirituality and ethics in the context of environmentalism, within the larger arena of liberal, technological society. It is driven foremost by a need for clear understanding of not only what these terms mean and what they represent, but also what it all means for where we stand today as ethical and spiritual beings. For in pursuing this topic, one must necessarily ask larger questions, namely: What does it mean to be ethical in technological society? What does it mean to be ‘spiritual’ in a ‘secular’ society? Are either of these things even possible? These questions form the backdrop of my particular focus on environmentalism. Through analysis of my own ethnographic research with members of the Sierra Club of Canada, and through use of the theoretical frameworks provided by four primary thinkers (Juan Luis Segundo, Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor and Jacques Ellul), I conclude that environmentalism, though far from problem-free, represents a ‘healthy’ form of ethical and spiritual expression in modern technological society. Part of this conclusion is the position that we are still very much ethical beings in technological society, and very much spiritual beings in secular society (though the latter is far more dependent on individual definitions of this term), and that in fact these two things relate directly.

This study examines the ethics of Western research involving Indigenous Peoples. The primary aim is to uncover the discursive strategies that impede Indigenous Peoples' social and political empowerment and the ethical issues revolving around such scholarship. The objective of this thesis is to uncover the assumptions, motivations, and values of Western research and scholarship involving Indigenous Peoples. The research addresses the distinction between assumptions about Indigenous Peoples as evidenced in the research process and the political, historical, and social reality of Indigenous Peoples. These distinctions are fundamental to the objective of negotiating an ethical order in knowledge production and research that impacts cross-cultural relation. The crucial positioning at the confluence of two worldviews enables a negotiation through counter claims as a process of developing an alternate model of knowing that illustrates a different perspective on researching. <p>Critical theory is utilized as a methodology to analyze the existing power structures and social inequalities that play a role in the nature of research involving Indigenous Peoples. This study does this by theoretical and qualitative writing that employs literature resources such as articles, documents, and books written by an increasing number of social critics from various fields and backgrounds. Numerous critical programs within the theory are used to provide avenues of critique and to pursue the development of alternate knowledge through the theory's language of possibility. In this respect, the author's voice is woven into the body of the methodology to introduce elements of primary research and as a bridging process to develop alternate views on knowledge and the research process from the Indigenous Peoples' perspective.<p> This thesis explores the basic principles of Western knowledge production to identify contradictions that would suggest inappropriate foundations for programs of research and discourses concerning Indigenous Peoples. A critical reading of literature highlights the body of critique in regards to the nature of Western research and discourses circumscribing the Western encounter with Indigenous Peoples. The introduction of the Indigenous worldview into the theoretical process illustrates a different and contrasting perspective to the idea of knowledge and its production. The encounter of these contrasting worldviews creates an ethical space, a place between worldviews, where the intentions of each are submitted for negotiation. The conceptual development of the ethical space opens up the possibility for configuring new models of research and knowledge production that is mutually developed through negotiation and respect in crosscultural interaction.<p> The role of Indigenous scholars, along with non-Indigenous allies, will be important in the formation of ethical processes of research that contemplates crossing cultural borders. The Indigenous scholar's position at the confluence of worldviews is crucial in the work required to assert and realign perspectives about Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge. Developing and disseminating Indigenous Peoples' perspectives about society and knowledge is crucial in advancing not only critique, but also in developing new forms of knowledge. The perspective of Indigenous Peoples represents a gaze on the Western world that reflects the nature of its being in moral and ethical terms.<p>Through this thesis work, I have found it is necessary to place critique within a proper and broader context that includes alternate knowledge paradigms. Critical thought with links to Western paradigms and structures cannot properly accommodate the full range of desire to develop new systems of knowledge production. The language of possibility envisioned by the theory offers the avenue to pursue alternative models of knowing in trying to achieve the goal of emancipation. The goal of emancipation for Indigenous Peoples will require the assertion of Indigenous perspectives within a theory of the possible and as a transition to an Indigenous research methodology.<p> Understanding Western social structures and systems, and the role of education in the process of knowledge and cultural transmission, is a vital necessity in coming to terms with research involving Indigenous Peoples. The system of knowledge production and its dissemination in the West has vestiges of influence from a history of colonialism and imperialism. These vestiges of colonialism translate as appropriation and exploitation of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge in the modern context. Current waves of research projects from Western institutions, under global economic auspices, threaten to continue the appropriation and exploitation of Indigenous Peoples' intellectual and cultural property. Confronting these neo-colonial practices requires a broad and protracted process of conscientization about research ethics, cultural imperialism, and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge. This can be partially achieved through curricula in universities and research institutions. Apart from protecting and enhancing solid and culturally respectful research, any new research involving Indigenous Peoples should immediately cease to allow for a full ethical debate. Only in this way can there be ethics in research involving Indigenous Peoples.

Morality has been a central topic of philosophy throughout Western civilization. Integrity is almost synonymous with morality. However, recent widespread corporate scandals challenge our belief that individuals, who at one moment are perceived to live by the standards of integrity, will consistently be moral. Moral self-regulation research (Monin & Miller, 2001; Zhong & Liljenquist, 2006; Zhong, Liljenquist, & Cain, 2009) investigates how people’s perception of their own integrity influences morality and proposes, counter-intuitively, that boosting a sense of integrity would reduce moral behavior (moral licensing) and threatening integrity would increase moral behavior (moral cleansing). This dissertation aims at developing this research by broadening the concept of integrity and by understanding the role that moral identity plays (Aquino & Reed, 2002). I argue that integrity is not only associated with whether one behaves consistently with moral values, but also with whether one behaves consistently with non-moral values, which are also strongly held beliefs but do not involve others’ well-being. Drawing on self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), I argue that self-integrity associated with non-moral values (non-moral self-integrity) could influence moral behavior in a similar way as self-integrity associated with moral values (moral self-integrity). I further argue that some individuals are more subject to the influence of self-integrity than others, and moral identity, the relative importance one assigns to morality within one’s self-conception, can identify when concerns with self-integrity will matter in moral domains. Different theories, however, predict two alternative ways that moral identity could moderate licensing and cleansing effects. Evidence from moral identity research suggests that the effects would be weaker among individuals high in moral identity because these individuals are more resilient towards psychological mechanisms that lead to variations in moral behavior. However, self-affirmation theory suggests that the effects would be stronger among individuals high in moral identity because these individuals’ self-integrity are more closely connected to morality and thus they are more likely to manage changes in integrity through moral self-regulation. Four studies were conducted to test the effects of non-moral self-integrity and moral identity on four forms of moral behaviors: volunteering, donating, cheating, and ethical leadership. The accumulative evidence supports the argument that boosted non-moral self-integrity reduced moral behavior and threatened non-moral self-integrity increases moral behavior. In addition, the data supported the prediction derived from self-affirmation theory, namely that licensing and cleansing effects resulting from non-moral self-integrity maintenance were stronger among individuals high in moral identity. This dissertation extends moral self-regulation research by revealing a more thorough connection between integrity and moral behavior and by identifying an important boundary condition of this research. It also has implications for managerial research on leader integrity and using integrity tests in personnel selection.

The main concern of this dissertation is exploring and elucidating the nature and the relationship of religion/spirituality and ethics in the context of environmentalism, within the larger arena of liberal, technological society. It is driven foremost by a need for clear understanding of not only what these terms mean and what they represent, but also what it all means for where we stand today as ethical and spiritual beings. For in pursuing this topic, one must necessarily ask larger questions, namely: What does it mean to be ethical in technological society? What does it mean to be ‘spiritual’ in a ‘secular’ society? Are either of these things even possible? These questions form the backdrop of my particular focus on environmentalism. Through analysis of my own ethnographic research with members of the Sierra Club of Canada, and through use of the theoretical frameworks provided by four primary thinkers (Juan Luis Segundo, Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor and Jacques Ellul), I conclude that environmentalism, though far from problem-free, represents a ‘healthy’ form of ethical and spiritual expression in modern technological society. Part of this conclusion is the position that we are still very much ethical beings in technological society, and very much spiritual beings in secular society (though the latter is far more dependent on individual definitions of this term), and that in fact these two things relate directly.

Morality has been a central topic of philosophy throughout Western civilization. Integrity is almost synonymous with morality. However, recent widespread corporate scandals challenge our belief that individuals, who at one moment are perceived to live by the standards of integrity, will consistently be moral. Moral self-regulation research (Monin & Miller, 2001; Zhong & Liljenquist, 2006; Zhong, Liljenquist, & Cain, 2009) investigates how people’s perception of their own integrity influences morality and proposes, counter-intuitively, that boosting a sense of integrity would reduce moral behavior (moral licensing) and threatening integrity would increase moral behavior (moral cleansing). This dissertation aims at developing this research by broadening the concept of integrity and by understanding the role that moral identity plays (Aquino & Reed, 2002). I argue that integrity is not only associated with whether one behaves consistently with moral values, but also with whether one behaves consistently with non-moral values, which are also strongly held beliefs but do not involve others’ well-being. Drawing on self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988), I argue that self-integrity associated with non-moral values (non-moral self-integrity) could influence moral behavior in a similar way as self-integrity associated with moral values (moral self-integrity). I further argue that some individuals are more subject to the influence of self-integrity than others, and moral identity, the relative importance one assigns to morality within one’s self-conception, can identify when concerns with self-integrity will matter in moral domains. Different theories, however, predict two alternative ways that moral identity could moderate licensing and cleansing effects. Evidence from moral identity research suggests that the effects would be weaker among individuals high in moral identity because these individuals are more resilient towards psychological mechanisms that lead to variations in moral behavior. However, self-affirmation theory suggests that the effects would be stronger among individuals high in moral identity because these individuals’ self-integrity are more closely connected to morality and thus they are more likely to manage changes in integrity through moral self-regulation. Four studies were conducted to test the effects of non-moral self-integrity and moral identity on four forms of moral behaviors: volunteering, donating, cheating, and ethical leadership. The accumulative evidence supports the argument that boosted non-moral self-integrity reduced moral behavior and threatened non-moral self-integrity increases moral behavior. In addition, the data supported the prediction derived from self-affirmation theory, namely that licensing and cleansing effects resulting from non-moral self-integrity maintenance were stronger among individuals high in moral identity. This dissertation extends moral self-regulation research by revealing a more thorough connection between integrity and moral behavior and by identifying an important boundary condition of this research. It also has implications for managerial research on leader integrity and using integrity tests in personnel selection.