Relational models, types of moral responsibilities, and the extent of the moral circle

What is it about?

The "moral circle" consists of the people and other entities that a person feels some moral responsibility toward. There are different kinds of moral responsibility, for example, responsibility to care for or help; to guide and direct; to obey or comply; to share equally or recognize equal rights; or to reward based on performance. Which kind of responsibility a person feels depends partly on the nature of the relationship between that person and the target person or entity in question: Is it a close relationship? Do both belong to the same defined group (such as family or tribe or religion)? Does the person have authority, or does the target person have the authority? Who can share goods, benefits, or rights? Who deserves rewards? The study found that the different types of relationship do influence whether the target is included in the moral circle. The responsibility to ensure equal rights and benefits promotes the largest moral circle, while the responsibility to direct and guide the other results in the greatest restriction. Very similar patterns were found in two very different cultures, US and Turkey.

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Photo by Nathalie Lays on Unsplash

Photo by Nathalie Lays on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our study shows that the extent of the moral circle does not depend only on degree of closeness, but also on the type of moral responsibility, which in turn is defined by the type of relationship between the person and the other person or entity (group, animal, human-made or natural object). Also, the same result was found in two different cultures, US (WEIRD) and Turkey (non-WEIRD).

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