Deborah Mower

University of Mississippi, Philosophy and Religion, Faculty Member

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Philosophy, Alumna

Youngstown State University, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty Member

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I specialize in moral psychology, applied ethics and public policy, and moral education. I have special interests in how moral education (in particular) and a liberal arts general education (more broadly) contribute to the development of moral sensitivity and civility, which I think are each essential for citizens in their private lives and a well-functioning democracy. Because of these interests, I mine literature from psychology and philosophy (Eastern, Western, and cross-cultural) for insights on the teaching of ethics, the development of character, the nature of public discourse, moral conviction, and the navigation of disagreement. Visit www.deborahmower.com to learn more.
Phone: 662-915-2010
Address: 100 Bryant Hall
Department of Philosophy and Religion
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
www.deborahmower.com

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Daniel D. Hutto

University of Wollongong

Robert Lickliter

Florida International University

Jean Decety

University of Chicago

University of Kansas

Princeton University

McGill University

Ohio State University

Carl Sachs

Marymount University

Luc Delannoy

Instituto de Neuroartes

Sam Rocha

University of British Columbia

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Books by Deborah Mower

Civility in Politics and Education

Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, 2012

This book examines the concept of civility and the conditions of civil disagreement in politics a... more This book examines the concept of civility and the conditions of civil disagreement in politics and education. Although many assume that civility is merely polite behavior, it functions to aid rational discourse. Building on this basic assumption, the book offers multiple accounts of civility and its contribution to citizenship, deliberative democracy, and education from Eastern and Western as well as classic and modern perspectives. Given that civility is essential to all aspects of public life, it is important to address how civility may be taught. Key chapters are by Mark Kingwell, Howard J. Curzer, Stephen C. Angle, Harry Brighouse, Robert F. Ladenson, and a Preface by NEH Chairman Jim Leach. While much of the book is theoretical, contributors also apply theory to practice, offering concrete methods for teaching civility at the high school and collegiate levels.

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Papers by Deborah Mower

Reflections on . . . Shifting the Educational Narrative in advance

Teaching Ethics, 2020

I describe four different approaches to ethics education that are commonly implemented in Ethics ... more I describe four different approaches to ethics education that are commonly implemented in Ethics Across the Curriculum (EAC) programs: the Case-based, Internalist, Supplementation, and Responsibilist. This typology is useful to categorize the range of institutional practices. As our Society moves into its next twenty years, I consider what we have learned about ethics education and whether we should promote a particular approach. I use a literary resource to shift our perspective and a philosophical resource to introduce a new structure. Using insights from these resources, I offer two proposals. First, I develop a theoretical proposal for an integrated model of ethics education that I call the Comprehensive Ethics Education (CEE) model. Second, I offer two pedagogical proposals for use in quantitative courses and degree programs as well as institution-wide EAC programs.

Reflections on . . . Nudges Across the Curriculum

Teaching Ethics, 2017

The primary problem we face when educating for social justice involves making problems and issues... more The primary problem we face when educating for social justice involves making problems and issues ‘real’ in ways that enable deep comprehension of the nature of injustice, the effects of systemic and dynamic causes, and the interaction of structures and policies on the lives of individuals. To address this problem, I examine work from behavioral economics and moral psychology as theoretical resources. I argue that we can glean insights from the notions of behavioral nudges and virtue labeling and propose a new account of nudges, which I call experiential nudges. Experiential nudges provide an important mechanism in educating for social justice, in particular, and can be extended within moral education more broadly.

Reflections on . . . Leading x Nudging in advance

Teaching Ethics, 2019

I develop a taxonomy of various approaches to leadership which I label the ethical decision-makin... more I develop a taxonomy of various approaches to leadership which I label the ethical decision-making, managerial obligation, role typology, and creativity conceptions of leadership. Each approach makes distinctive assumptions about the task and educational responsibilities in educating for ethical leadership. Although each of these approaches are extremely valuable, I find them limited in that they all rely on what I call an agentic model. Using the concepts of choice architects and choice architecture from nudge theory, I argue for a new metaphysical model—a systems-design model—that captures the complex and interactive dynamic of a host of metaphysical entities and contextual factors. This new metaphysical model of the context of leadership and the function of leaders within it yields a theory of leadership, which I dub the ethical systems-design conception of leadership.

Developing Moral Sensitivity

Developing Moral Sensitivity, 2015

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Reflections on . . . The “Borders” of Identity and Intuition

Teaching Ethics, 2016

Scripting Situations in Moral Education

Teaching Ethics, 2010

Teaching Sympathetic Moral Reasoning

Teaching Ethics, 2008

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Civility in politics and education

Journal of Moral Education, 2013

This comprehensive volume on civility is a theoretically thorough analysis of every aspect of wha... more This comprehensive volume on civility is a theoretically thorough analysis of every aspect of what civility is and is not, what it looks like and where it is lacking and the ways it develops. The authors individually wrestle with this term and soon it is clear that there are no synonyms for civility (not kindness, politeness or even respect). Clear also is that without civility there is no hope for community, representative government or productive social interaction. So the final section on pedagogy is especially important, powerful and, for me, unexpectedly personal. Politics, filled with endless analyses, discussion and bias, is a necessary process that requires civility which includes what Kristin Schaupp refers to as 'epistemic modesty'. This is not a suspension of judgement or certainty but the willingness to consider the differing views of others who are also willing to investigate the issue from various perspectives and to hold their own stance with humility. Much of the reason politics and public discussions fail is because this interpretive filter of epistemic modesty is lacking. Mark Kingwell describes the certainty of being right and closing one's ears to the opposition as a race to the bottom, or a type of 'Collective Action Problem' promoting this unfortunate decline. Kingwell argues that each individual has an incentive to engage in incivility as an effective strategy or tactic. But when each individual pursues his or her most effective uncivil actions, incivility increases at a rampant rate. Using Aristotle, Howard Curzer explains that civility is a developed virtue and 'virtue is a disposition for getting one's actions and passions right with respect to several parameters in each situation'. Curzer argues that getting it right may require incivility. Although his theory appears paradoxical, he argues unfailing civility tends to preserve the advantages of the ruling group. Given particular political structures and power imbalances, incivility can be necessary. Timothy Shiell uses disagreements on university campuses to make his case for the importance of incivility, and argues that freedom of speech may demand incivility or, at least, allows for incivility in certain situations. Andrew Terjesen argues for a related strategy for enhancing civility by developing 'magnanimity', which is the way we need to conduct ourselves even and especially when our individual good or ideas are threatened. Magnanimity is a bit controversial because in order to act magnanimously one must have a powerful

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Sex Differences in Moral Interests: The Role of Kinship and the Nature of Reciprocity

Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2009

Although moral psychologists and feminist moral theorists emphasize males' interest in justi... more Although moral psychologists and feminist moral theorists emphasize males' interest in justice or fairness and females' interest in care or empathy, recent work in evolutionary psychology links females' interests in care and empathy for others with interests in fairness and equality. In ...

Teaching Ethics via Sympathy

International Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2009

Given the specific educational, psycholoqical, and socioloqical factors of juvenile inmates, I de... more Given the specific educational, psycholoqical, and socioloqical factors of juvenile inmates, I developed a course to teach such students moral concepts and reasoning without high level theorizing. I combined Hume's account of sympathy with current philosophical and psychological research to develop the students' natural sympathy as an aid in developing emotional, contextual, and moral literacy. In this paper, I explain (1) how the course developed the students' natural sympathy, (2) how sympathy can provide a simple and familiar process of moral deliberation, (3) how sympathy aids in learning moral concepts, and (4) some interesting implications for public policy regarding moral education and recidivism, early childhood moral education, and teaching ethics courses generally.

Situationism and Confucian Virtue Ethics

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 2011

Situationist research in social psychology focuses on the situational factors that influence beha... more Situationist research in social psychology focuses on the situational factors that influence behavior. Doris and Harman argue that this research has powerful implications for ethics, and virtue ethics in particular. First, they claim that situationist research presents an empirical challenge to the moral psychology presumed within virtue ethics. Second, they argue that situationist research supports a theoretical challenge to virtue ethics as a foundation for ethical behavior and moral development. I offer a response from moral psychology using an interpretation of Xunzi—a Confucian virtue ethicist from the Classical period. This Confucian account serves as a foil to the situationist critique in that it uncovers many problematic ontological and normative assumptions at work in this debate regarding the prediction and explanation of behavior, psychological posits, moral development, and moral education. Xunzi’s account of virtue ethics not only responds to the situationist empirical challenge by uncovering problematic assumptions about moral psychology, but also demonstrates that it is not a separate empirical hypothesis. Further, Xunzi’s virtue ethic responds to the theoretical challenge by offering a new account of moral development and a ground for ethical norms that fully attends to situational features while upholding robust character traits.

The Normativity of Moral Sensitivity

Increasing the Moral Sensitivity of Professionals

The ‘educators’ charge’ is to answer what our priority should be in educating college and univers... more The ‘educators’ charge’ is to answer what our priority should be in educating college and university students. Despite shifts in terminology, a long-standing view is that educators should develop the moral sensitivity of their students to prepare them for both their private, civic lives as well as their professional roles and positions in institutions and society. In this chapter, I explain the development of the concept of moral sensitivity, and that it is a complex discriminative or diagnostic expertise that functions as guide for moral action: a sophisticated ability to ‘see’ or diagnose the right course of action based on extensive learning and practice. Ethics Across the Curriculum (EAC) Programs are uniquely poised to develop moral sensitivity because they provide (1) diverse perspectives and resources from a variety of fields, (2) the ability to focus on developing specific domains of capacities that underlie moral sensitivity, (3) the opportunity to practice and develop mora...

Theatrical Intervention as a Pathway to Moral Virtue Development

Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.

A Portfolio Approach to Integrated Moral Sensitivity

Reintroducing Moral Sensitivity

Civility

International Encyclopedia of Ethics

Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2011

ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.

Civility in Politics and Education

Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, 2012

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Reflections on . . . Shifting the Educational Narrative in advance

Teaching Ethics, 2020

Reflections on . . . Nudges Across the Curriculum

Teaching Ethics, 2017

Reflections on . . . Leading x Nudging in advance

Teaching Ethics, 2019

Developing Moral Sensitivity

Developing Moral Sensitivity, 2015

Download

Reflections on . . . The “Borders” of Identity and Intuition

Teaching Ethics, 2016

Scripting Situations in Moral Education

Teaching Ethics, 2010

Teaching Sympathetic Moral Reasoning

Teaching Ethics, 2008

Download

Civility in politics and education

Journal of Moral Education, 2013

Download

Sex Differences in Moral Interests: The Role of Kinship and the Nature of Reciprocity

Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 2009

Teaching Ethics via Sympathy

International Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2009

Situationism and Confucian Virtue Ethics

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 2011

The Normativity of Moral Sensitivity

Increasing the Moral Sensitivity of Professionals

Theatrical Intervention as a Pathway to Moral Virtue Development

Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.

A Portfolio Approach to Integrated Moral Sensitivity

Reintroducing Moral Sensitivity

Civility

International Encyclopedia of Ethics

Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2011

ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.

Teaching Sympathetic Moral Reasoning

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Ethics in Action: A Case-Based Approach, edited by Peggy Connolly et al.

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Learning from Chinese Philosophies, by Karyn Lai

Karyn Lai's book Learning from Chinese Philosophies is a wonderful example of current comparative... more Karyn Lai's book Learning from Chinese Philosophies is a wonderful example of current comparative philosophy. The book engages in multiple levels of comparison by detailing the contrasts between Confucianism and Daoism, uncovering the meta-theoretical assumptions of Chinese philosophy, juxtaposing ancient Chinese philosophy with modern ethical theory, and offering new philosophical insights into Confucianism and Daoism as well as into modern ethical theory. Lai goes beyond interesting comparisons to engage in new philosophical work using the insights of both Eastern and Western traditions, which is what I take to be the hallmark of current comparative philosophy. As a piece of current philosophy, it offers a groundbreaking new interpretation of Confucianism as relying on a conception of an interdependent self and as being a skills-based ethic.

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Deborah Mower

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