Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, Volume 2

Springer, 2023.

This handbook articulates how sociology can re-engage its roots as the scientific study of human moral systems, actions, and interpretation. This second volume builds on the successful original volume published in 2010, which contributed to the initiation of a new section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), thus growing the field. This volume takes sociology back to its roots over a century ago, when morality was a central topic of work and governance. It engages scholars from across subfields in sociology, representing each section of the ASA, who each contribute a chapter on how their subfield connects to research on morality. 

This reference work appeals to broader readership than was envisaged for the first volume, as the relationship between sociology as a discipline and its origins in questions of morality is further renewed. The volume editors focus on three areas: the current state of the sociology of morality across a range of sociological subfields; taking a new look at some of the issues discussed in the first handbook, which are now relevant in sometimes completely new contexts; and reflecting on where the sociology of morality should go next. This is a must-read reference for students and scholars interested in topics of morality, ethics, altruism, religion, and spirituality from across the social science.

Chapters

Altruism, Morality, and the Morality of Altruism

Bykov A., , in: Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, Volume 2.: Springer, 2023. Ch. 14 P. 215–221.

his chapter focuses on the prospects for the sociology of altruism in the context of the relations between the notions of altruism and morality. For this purpose, I briefly discuss three problems that, I believe, are important for the sociological comprehension of altruism—namely, those of moral worth, moral boundaries, and impartiality. Ascribing moral worth to ...

Added: October 26, 2023

Keywords: moral power, Law and morality, class and morality, modernity and world society, methodology in the study of morality, marketplace morality, moral identity theory, american moral culture