PREAMBLE

I mentioned in my FB post earlier this morning that a section of my Ph.D. thesis on the social and psychological impediments to the development of moral awareness and ethical action is relevant to what is happening in Canada today. Police are being asked – by authorities who are, for all intents and purposes “legitimate” – however, many of the things law enforcement officials, police officers (and likely soon, the military) are being asked to do violate fundamental rights and freedoms.

Being asked to do what is illegitimate by a political authority (who also provides employment and a means of living) perceived to be legitimate presents many difficult and unique dynamics that need to be examined if we are to detect and control them.

This is the index for Chapter Six of my thesis which deals with Conformity; what I have captured and pasted into this article is section 3.  If you are interested in reading more, you can download the entire thesis here: “Ethics and awareness : a social psychological study of impediments to dynamic moral awareness.”

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