Cultural Foundations and Norm-Creating Perspectives of “New Ethics” in the Expert Assessment of the Academic Community

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study relies on the dissemination of the ideas of “new ethics”, reflecting modern transformations in the understanding of justice, social recognition, political correctness, the fight against discrimination, stigmatization, etc. The academic community, which largely determines the value vector of educational process, is an active participant in the discussion about the “new ethics” The purpose of the study is to analyze its ideas about sociocultural foundations and norm-making prospects of “new ethics”. Materials and Methods. The article is based on the results of the authors’ research conducted among representatives of the academic community. 32 specialists in sociology, ethics and law from Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus were selected as experts. The method of collecting primary sociological information is an expert web interview implemented on the Yandex Forms platform. Recruitment of respondents was carried out through the researchers’ own networks. Results. Experts define “new ethics” as a set of norms and principles formed in the conditions of digital communication and aimed against manifestations of discrimination and violence. The goal of the “new ethics” is to rethink relations between people in the context of the cuttent round of recognition process and increased sensitivity to the violation of the personal boundaries. The focus of the “new ethics” is on the forms of violence that were previously hidden from public view. Experts believe that the “new ethics” has serious norm-creating potential, and regulations are already being changed to meet new requirements. However, they believe that these changes should be thoughtful and not be driven by the emotions,, to which the “new ethics” often appeals. Discussion and Conclusion. Since “new ethics” has a serious impact on education, taking into account the views of the academic community on it is necessary to develop strategies for upbringing, making new laws and codes of academic ethics.

Keywords

• “new ethics”, academic community, culture, morality, norm-creating, education