Hermeneutic Moral Realism in Psychology T raditional sources of morality—philosophical ethics, religious standards, and cultural values—are being questioned at a time when we most need morality’s direction. Research shows that moral direction is vital to our identities, happiness, productivity, and relationships, but there is a decline in its development and use, especially among younger adults. This book argues that hermeneutic moral realism is the best hope for meeting the twenty-first-century challenges of scientism, individualism, and postmodernism. In addition to providing a thorough understanding of moral realism, the volume also takes preliminary steps toward its application in important practical settings, including research, psychotherapy, politics, and publishing. Brent D. Slife is a clinical psychologist who was, until his recent retirement, Professor of Psychology at Brigham Young University, USA. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the J ournal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology and received the Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association for his contribution to psychology. Stephen C. Yanchar is Associate Professor in the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University, USA. He is primarily interested in theoretical and philosophical issues in education and psychology, especially those pertaining to agency and learning, qualitative inquiry, and design practices. Advances in Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Series Editor Brent D. Slife Brigham Young University Editorial Board Scott Churchill Jeffrey Reber University of Dallas West Georgia University Blaine Fowers Frank Richardson University of Miami University of Texas Mark Freeman Kate Slaney College of Holy Cross Simon Fraser University James Lamiell Jeff Sugarman Georgetown University Simon Fraser University Jack Martin Thomas Teo Simon Fraser University York University Mary Beth Morrissey Fordham University Brent D. Slife, Kari A. O'Grady, and Russell D. Kosits The Hidden Worldviews of Psychology’s Theory, Research, and Practice Edwin E. Gantt and Richard N. Williams On Hijacking Science: Exploring the Nature and Consequences of Overreach in Psychology Brian Schiff Situating Qualitative Methods in Psychological Science Brent D. Slife and Stephen Yanchar Hermeneutic Moral Realism in Psychology: Theory and Practice For more information about this series, please visit https://www.routledge. com/psychology/series/TPP Hermeneutic Moral Realism in Psychology: Theory and Practice Edited by Brent D. Slife and Stephen C. Yanchar First published 2019 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Taylor & Francis The right of Brent D. Slife and Stephen C. Yanchar to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-59453-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-48879-5 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage LLC To our sons, Conor, Nathan, and Jacob and Joseph, Jacob, and Alex Contents Introduction: Moral Grounds in the Postmodern Era: The Reality of Hermeneutic Morality in Psychology 1 BRENT D. SLIFE AND STEPHEN C. YANCHAR SECTION 1 19 1 Hermeneutic Moral Realism, Participational Agency, and World Disclosure 21 STEPHEN C. YANCHAR AND BRENT D. SLIFE 2 The Moral Hermeneutic of Scientific Justification 37 JOSHUA W. CLEGG 3 Culture and Hermeneutic Moral Realism 51 JACOB R. HICKMAN SECTION 2 69 4 Psychotherapy and the Moral Realism of Charles Taylor 71 BRENT D. SLIFE, ERIC A. GHELFI, AND NATHAN M. SLIFE 5 The Moral Affordances of Publishing Practices 86 JOSHUA W. CLEGG viii Contents 6 Politics and Moral Realism 97 FRANK C. RICHARDSON, ROBERT C. BISHOP, AND KATHLEEN L. SLANEY 7 Inquiry Into Moral Configurations 116 STEPHEN C. YANCHAR AND SUSAN PETERSON GONG Index 128 Editor and Contributor Biographies Robert C. Bishop is Associate Professor of Physics and Philosophy and the John and Madeleine McIntyre Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at Wheaton College. His publications include T he Philosophy of the Social Sciences (Continuum, 2007). Joshua W. Clegg is Associate Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a member of the faculty in the Critical Social and Personality Psychology doctoral program at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Eric A. Ghelfi is a clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Brigham Young University. His interests include the philosophy of social science and reproducibility issues in psychology. Susan Peterson Gong holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology at Brigham Young University. She is inter- ested in learning theory with an emphasis on the student practice of asking questions. She is also interested in qualitative inquiry and the philosophical and practical implications of student agency for instruc- tional design. Jacob R. Hickman is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Brigham Young University. His research spans the fields of cultural psychol- ogy, psychological anthropology, religious studies, and Southeast Asian studies. Frank C. Richardson is Professor of Educational Psychology Emeritus at the University of Texas, Austin. He is author or editor of several books, including R e-envisioning Psychology and C ritical Thinking about Psychology . Kathleen L. Slaney is Professor of Psychology at Simon Fraser Univer- sity. She is author of V alidating Psychological Constructs (2017), and