Moralization and Mismoralization in Public Health

Bibliographic Data

ID21702665
AuthorsSteven R Kraaijeveld (0000-0002-6338-6305, Wageningen University & Research, corresponding author), Euzebiusz Jamrozik (0000-0001-5940-602X, Johns Hopkins University)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue4
Pages655-669
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedicine Health Care and Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1386-7423 • E-ISSN: 1572-8633
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11019-022-10103-1
PMID36045179
OpenAlexW4293786415
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited104

Moralization is a social-psychological process through which morally neutral issues take on moral significance. Often linked to health and disease, moralization may sometimes lead to good outcomes; yet moralization is often detrimental to individuals and to society as a whole. It is therefore important to be able to identify when moralization is inappropriate. In this paper, we offer a systematic normative approach to the evaluation of moralization. We introduce and develop the concept of ‘mismoralization’, which is when moralization is metaethically unjustified. In order to identify mismoralization, we argue that one must engage in metaethical analysis of moralization processes while paying close attention to the relevant facts. We briefly discuss one historical example (tuberculosis) and two contemporary cases related to COVID-19 (infection and vaccination status) that we contend to have been mismoralized in public health. We propose a remedy of de-moralization that begins by identifying mismoralization and that proceeds by neutralizing inapt moral content. De-moralization calls for epistemic and moral humility. It should lead us to pull away from our tendency to moralize—as individuals and as social groups—whenever and wherever moralization is unjustified

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Humility · Medical law · Normative · Philosophy of medicine · Political science · Public health · Sociology · Law · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy