Images of distant suffering provoke moral engagement and military intervention.
Evidence
In 1992, Operation Restore Hope began with a United Nations-sponsored coalition of military forces sent into Somalia. Although all military interventions are driven by many complex and interrelated motivations, in this case more than others, commentators pointed to the role of the shocking images and the outrage they created: the citizenry came to feel that it was too much to bear, and were convinced that something should be done. Politicians reacted to the groundswell of sentiment from their constituencies, and likely feeling the same outrage, took action to reduce the suffering of the Somalis. And, in turn, to protect our own sense of self-worth and psychological equanimity, which depends on our view of ourselves as moral beings. We empathized with the victims, felt their suffering, perceived their humanity. We were morally engaged. — Emanuele Castano, On the Perils of Glorifying the In-group, 15
Categorization
- XREF: Contrast-cases with the moral disengagement mechanism in my sources on glorification; this is the engaged-morality foil. — connects to: Moral philosophy is now being deployed to facilitate war; Moral outrage over atrocities overrode expert assessments to justify military intervention — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2466; Fiction can function as moral motivation for real-world military participation. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 238 (+10 more)
Broader Connections
- Moral outrage over atrocities overrode expert assessments to justify military intervention
#corroborates(0.94) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2466 - Moral outrage about Muslim injustice can shade into endorsing Western intervention.
#exemplifies(0.90) - Images of suffering refugees depersonalize them rather than generate compassion
#contradicts(0.90) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2573 - Vivid out-group atrocities trigger escalation driven by moral outrage
#corroborates(0.88) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2456 - Fiction can function as moral motivation for real-world military participation.
#expands(0.80) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 238 - Moral engagement can be deliberately fostered to reduce violent means endorsement
#complicates(0.79) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 651 - Moral philosophy is now being deployed to facilitate war
#expands(0.78) - Threat to in-group moral image triggers defensive reinterpretation of atrocity reports.
#complicates(0.77) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2136 - Moral disengagement reduces victims’ perceived suffering and thus the desire for justice
#complicates(0.76) - Moral justifications can substitute for discredited rationales to sustain support for war
#complicates(0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2317 - An image’s moral power can depend on its violation of norms.
#qualifies(0.74) — Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet, 17 - Just-war doctrine itself enables disguising atrocities as moral action
#responds-to(0.73) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 345 - Wars require moral justification for leaders, publics, and soldiers alike
#qualifies(0.72) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2323