- 100 Bryant Hall
Department of Philosophy and Religion
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
www.deborahmower.com - 662-915-2010
Deborah Mower
University of Mississippi, Philosophy and Religion, Faculty Member
- Pacific University, Philosophy, AlumnusUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison, Philosophy, AlumnusYoungstown State University, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty Memberadd
- Moral Psychology, Applied Ethics, Confucianism, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Education, Ethics, and 19 moreCognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Comparative Philosophy, Empathy (Psychology), David Hume, Xunzi, John Dewey, Civility and the Civilising Process, Evolutionary Psychology, Evolutionary Epistemology, Perception and Cognition, Philosophical Psychology, Brain & Education, Civic and Moral Education, Alternative School Models, Democratic Schools, Ethics Across the Curriculum, Teaching Ethics, and Teaching of Ethicsedit
- I specialize in moral psychology, applied ethics and public policy, and moral education. I have special interests in ... moreI 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.edit
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... 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.
Research Interests:
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... 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.
Research Interests:
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... 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.
Research Interests:
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... 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.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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... 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 ...
Research Interests:
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... 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.
Research Interests:
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... 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.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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... 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...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ED525834 - Civility in Politics and Education. Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The robust research within Project Implicit drives home the discomforting fact that many of us have implicit biases that we may believe lead to unethical action and which we may have attempted to eradicate from our thoughts. I examine the... more
The robust research within Project Implicit drives home the discomforting fact that many of us have implicit biases that we may believe lead to unethical action and which we may have attempted to eradicate from our thoughts. I examine the problem that implicit bias poses for moral education, and search for a solution by examining the alternatives of culture, character, conscience, and moral sensitivity. I argue that each fails individually, but that a potential solution to the problem comes through the creation of a limited “culture” within our classrooms; specifically, a culture that cultivates moral sensitivity as a collaborative endeavor.
Research Interests:
The facility and rapidity with which we form groups—and that we often do so on the basis of manipulated and inconsequential features—highlights the fact that group identification, and hence in-group favoritism, is often arbitrary. I call... more
The facility and rapidity with which we form groups—and that we often do so on the basis of manipulated and inconsequential features—highlights the fact that group identification, and hence in-group favoritism, is often arbitrary. I call the arbitrariness of in-group favoritism the “moral problem of group identity.” Focusing on helping behaviors, I argue that although the exposed arbitrariness of our motivations and actions is both surprising and discomforting, we can use knowledge of the moral problem of group identity as both a theoretical and a pedagogical tool.