The Ethics of Social Roles

Our social roles as teachers, parents, and friends shape our ethical lives and perceptions of each other. This collection aims to highlight the ethical significance of social roles, often overlooked in philosophical enquiry. It explores the historical context, the source of normative force, the relation to institutional context, and implications for self and wellbeing.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 16 March 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The multifaceted roles we assume in society, such as teachers, parents, and friends, profoundly influence our ethical lives and shape our perceptions of one another and ourselves. These roles have been a central focus in sociology for many years, and they often play a significant role in applied moral philosophy and professional ethics. However, the ethical significance of social roles as a distinct field of philosophical inquiry has been relatively overlooked. It is often assumed that the ethical implications of social roles are limited or socially regressive, as if the pull of a social role always leads to a sense of knowing one's place.
The purpose of this collection is to rectify this oversight by placing social roles back at the center of normative ethics. After an introductory chapter aimed at readers new to the topic, fourteen original chapters by an international team of new and established authors explore how social roles serve as a missing link between several well-established areas of study, including collective agency, special obligations, well-being, and social and political justice. These contributions are organized into four parts.
The first part examines the topic from a historical perspective, recognizing that philosophers have not always neglected social roles. The second part explores the source of the apparent normative force of social roles. The third part examines the relationship between the normativity of a social role and its broader institutional context. The fourth part explores the implications of social roles for self and well-being.
Overall, this collection provides a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the ethical significance of social roles. It demonstrates how social roles play a vital role in shaping our moral lives and in contributing to the broader ethical discourse. By highlighting the ethical dimensions of social roles, this collection aims to inspire further research and discussion in this important area of study.

Weight: 684g
Dimension: 240 x 165 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192843562