Moral denunciation constrains behavior more effectively than merely procedural rules

Evidence

Maimonides did not have to make this naming. He could have followed earlier codifiers (Alfasi, Rabbeinu Hananel, the Geonim) who treated the small-strap rule as a procedural requirement without categorical-moral characterization of the teacher who exceeded it. Maimonides specifically chose to name the categorical-moral consequence of exceeding the bracket. And the naming has substantial operational consequences. A Jewish teacher who knew himself to be operating under threat of being categorized as rasha — wicked — by the most authoritative codifier in the entire medieval rabbinic tradition was substantively constrained in a way that a teacher operating under merely procedural requirements would not be. — , The Rod and the Child, 2517

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how labeling offenses as ‘wicked’ in professional codes versus merely ‘prohibited’ shapes compliance behavior — relevant to any modern code of conduct.
• XREF: connects to: Ethical-robot advocacy lowers moral barriers to deploying lethal robots.; Moral rules cannot be created or altered by deliberate human enactment — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 443; Both moral outrage and dehumanization predicted punishment independently of crime type or severity. — The Roles of Dehumanization and Moral Outrage in Retributive Justice (+5 more)

Related

• Institutional norms target behaviors no other mechanism can govern (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Moral rules cannot be created or altered by deliberate human enactment #qualifies (0.60) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 443