Humility: A Foundational Virtue for Digital Life

This volume provides a representative overview of philosophical work on virtue. It is divided into seven parts: conceptualizations of virtue, historical and religious accounts, contemporary virtue ethics and theories of virtue, central concepts and issues, critical examinations, applied virtue ethics, and virtue epistemology. Forty-two chapters by distinguished contributors offer insights and directions for further research. The volume is unique in bringing together work on virtue ethics and virtue epistemology, thereby providing an overview of the most recent thinking on virtue in the field of philosophy. It explores writing on virtue in the work of western historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hume, Nietzsche, Kant, and the utilitarians, and includes chapters on Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, and Confucian and Neo-Confucian approaches to virtue ethics. Chapters on neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics and alternatives to it, such as sentimentalism, are also included, as well as work in applied virtue ethics in areas such as medical ethics, business ethics, environmentalism, jurisprudence, sexual ethics, and communication ethics. Objections to virtue ethics and central virtue ethical themes, such as motivation, are also addressed. Chapters on key virtue epistemological themes are also featured in the volume, and a nod toward the emerging field of applied virtue epistemology is given.

Linda Zagzebski argues that knowledge should be understood in terms of intellectual virtue. The kind of she has in mind is on the model of Aristotle's account of moral virtue: A virtue, then, can be defined as a deep and enduring acquired of a person, involving a characteristic motivation to produce a certain desired end and reliable success in bringing about that end. (137) Examples of such virtues are open-mindedness, fair-mindedness, intellectual thoroughness and intellectual courage. Zagzebski calls her theory of knowledge a true theory, distinguishing it from reliabilist theories of Sosa and Goldman.' These latter authors use the terminology of intellectual and but in a way that, according to Zagzebski, misuses the language of virtue. In what follows below I will argue for two theses. First, there is an important way of dividing up the landscape so that the theories of Sosa and Goldman are indeed theories. On this understanding, all three of our authors are in the same broad camp; one which can appropriately be labeled virtue epistemology, and which can be distinguished from other broad alternatives concerning the nature of knowledge. The real disagreement between Zagzebski on the one hand, and Sosa and Goldman on the other, is over the nature of intellectual virtue, or that kind of which is required for knowledge. Once the question is put this way, it is possible to argue for my second thesis. Namely, reliabilists such as Sosa and Goldman are correct in rejecting Aristotle's account of the moral virtues as the model for understanding intellectual virtue. Contra Zagzebski, the cognitive character that grounds knowledge need not be acquired, need not include the strong motivational component of an Aristotlean moral virtue, and need not be an excellence in Aristotle's sense. Rather, the essential aspect of an intellectual is its success component, or in Sosa's and Goldman's terms, its reliability.

In the past few years, there has been a significant focus on investigating the impact of social media engagement. Although previous studies recognize the importance of social media engagement, there is still a lack of in-depth analysis regarding the specific influences of likes, comments, and shares on consumer behaviour, especially concerning how these engagements affect different platforms. This study aims to examine the relationship between social media engagement metrics (likes, comments, and shares) and consumer purchase intention on two prominent platforms, Facebook and Instagram. By adopting a cross-sectional design, this study employed purposive sampling to gather data from Malaysian university students who have engaged in purchasing activities on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The analysis was conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) based on 265 completed responses, comprising 131 from Facebook users and 134 from Instagram users. The results reveal a significant positive relationship between likes and shares with consumer purchase intention on both Facebook and Instagram. However, comments were not found to be associated with consumer purchase intention on either platform. Furthermore, the study conducted a comparative analysis between Facebook and Instagram and found no significant differences in the relationships between engagement metrics and purchase intention. These findings have practical implications for marketers, emphasizing the importance of fostering engagement through likes and shares to drive consumer purchasing behaviour on social media platforms.

This study responds to the increasing call for thoughtful theological and ethical engagement with Artificial Intelligence (AI) by examining the role of personal theological reflection using Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) content in Catholic theological education. It investigates how both educators and students might utilize AI-generated imagery as a pedagogical resource with which to enrich theological insight and foster ethical discernment, particularly through the lens of theological virtue ethics. AI is not a substitute for all human tasks. However, the use of AI holds potential for theology and catechetical religious education. Following Gläser-Zikuda’s model of Self-Reflecting Methods of Learning Research, this study systematically engages in reflective observation to examine how the use of GenAI in theology classrooms has influenced personal theological thinking, pedagogical practices, and ethical considerations. It documents experiences using common generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Canva, Meta AI, Deep AI, and Gencraft in theology classes. The principles of virtue ethics and Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI) offer a critical framework for ethical, pedagogical, and theological engagement. The findings contribute to the emerging interdisciplinary discourse on AI ethics and theology, and religious pedagogy in the digital age.

As population demographics continue to shift, many employees will also be tasked with providing informal care to a friend or family member. The balance between working and caregiving can greatly strain carer-employees. Caregiver-friendly work environments can help reduce this burden. However, there is little awareness of the benefits of these workplace practices, and they have not been widely adopted in Canada. An awareness-generating campaign with the core message "supporting caregivers at work makes good business sense" was created leading up to Canada's National Caregivers Day on April 5, 2022. Our primary objective is to describe the campaign's reach and engagement, including social media, email, and website activity, and our secondary objective is to compare engagement metrics across social media platforms. An awareness-generating campaign was launched on September 22, 2021, with goals to (1) build awareness about the need for caregiver-friendly workplaces and (2) direct employees and employers to relevant resources on a campaign website. Content was primarily delivered through 4 social media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram), and supplemented by direct emails through a campaign partner, and through webinars. Total reach, defined as the number of impressions, and quality of engagement, defined per social media platform as the engagement rate per post, average site duration, and page depth, were captured and compared through site-specific analytics on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn throughout the awareness-generating campaign. The number of views, downloads, bounce rate, and time on the page for the website were counted using Google Analytics. Open and click-through rates were measured using email analytics, and webinar registrants and attendees were also tracked. Data were collected from September 22, 2021, to April 12, 2022. During this time, 30 key messages were developed and disseminated through 74 social media tiles. While Facebook posts generated the most extensive reach (137,098 impressions), the quality of the engagement was low (0.561 engagement per post). Twitter resulted in the highest percentage of impressions that resulted in engagement (24%), and those who viewed resources through Twitter spent a substantial amount of time on the page (3 minute 5 second). Website users who visited the website through Instagram spent the most time on the website (5 minute 44 second) and had the greatest page depth (2.20 pages), and the overall reach was low (3783). Recipients' engagement with email content met industry standards. Webinar participation ranged from 57 to 78 attendees. This knowledge mobilization campaign reached a large audience and generated engagement in content. Twitter is most helpful for this type of knowledge mobilization. Further work is needed to evaluate the characteristics of individuals engaging in this content and to work more closely with employers and employees to move from engagement and awareness to adopt caregiver-friendly workplace practices.

This chapter examines the phenomenon of internet users attempting to report and prevent online child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in the absence of adequate intervention by internet service providers, social media platforms, and government. The chapter discusses the history of online CSE, focusing on regulatory stances over time in which online risks to children have been cast as natural and inevitable by the hegemony of a “cyberlibertarian” ideology. We illustrate the success of this ideology, as well as its profound contradictions and ethical failures, by presenting key examples in which internet users have taken decisive action to prevent online CSE and promote the removal of CSAM. Rejecting simplistic characterizations of “vigilante justice,” we argue instead that the fact that often young internet users report feeling forced to act against online CSE and CSAM undercuts libertarian claims that internet regulation is impossible, unworkable, and unwanted. Recent shifts toward a more progressive ethos of online harm minimization are promising; however, this ethos risks offering a new legitimizing ideology for online business models that will continue to put children at risk of abuse and exploitation. In conclusion, we suggest ways forward toward an internet built in the interests of children, rather than profit.

In this paper I argue that virtue ethics should be understood as a form of ethics which integrates various domains of the practical in relation to which virtues are excellences. To argue this it is necessary to distinguish two senses of the “moral”: the broad sense which integrates the domains of the practical and a narrow classificatory sense. Virtue ethics, understood as above, believes that all genuine virtue should be understood as what I call virtues proper. To possess a virtue proper (such as an excellent disposition of open-mindedness, an epistemic virtue) is to possess a disposition of overall excellence in relation to the sphere or field of the virtue (being open to the opinions of others). Overall excellence in turn involves excellence in integrating to a sufficient degree, standards of excellence in all relevant practical domains. Epistemic virtues, sporting virtues, moral virtues, and so on are all virtues proper. In particular it is impossible for an epistemic virtue to be a moral (narrow sense) vice.

Reviewed by: Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment Fred D. Miller Jr. Charles L. Griswold . Adam Smith and the Virtues of Enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp. xiv + 412. Cloth, $59.95. For over a century, scholars have been vexed by the so-called "Adam Smith problem," which concerns the relationship between the two works which Smith published during his lifetime: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) in 1759, and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (WN) in 1776 (citations are to the Liberty Classics reprints of the Oxford University Press editions). Many have regarded them as discordant: while TMS is apparently concerned with classical ethics, WN seems to assume that humans are basically egoistic, although they can be directed toward the public good by means of the "invisible hand." It is tempting to view Smith as a transitional author: TMS is the swan song of virtue ethics, whereas WN is a pioneering work in a new tradition of political economy. Griswold challenges this temptation in this brilliant study, arguing that Smith had a coherent and integrated philosophical viewpoint encompassing TMS, WN, and other surviving writings. Griswold views Smith as offering a virtue ethics and "throwing in his lot with the ancient moralists" (65). He argues, "We cannot grasp Smith's diagnosis of and therapy for the modern age without devoting considerable attention to his analysis of the virtues (especially the virtue of justice) as well as to the theory of the emotions, of the impartial spectator, and of sympathy" (20). Smith tried to reconcile a traditional ethics with modern skepticism and the new values associated with commercial society and religious secularism. Griswold's book illuminates a wide range of themes in Smith's moral philosophy: his view of rhetoric, method, and system underlying TMS (chapter 1); sympathy and self-interest (chapter 2); moral psychology and the theory of the impartial spectator (chapter 3); Smith's skepticism and reservations about philosophy (chapter 4); virtue theory (chapter 5); justice (chapter 6); the relationship between TMS and WN (chapter 7); and nature versus artifice in ethics (chapter 8). The epilogue critically discusses whether Smith's moral theory falls into subjectivism, and whether [End Page 439] Smith goes too far in excluding philosophers such as Socrates from ordinary moral discourse. A brief review cannot do justice to Griswold's compelling interpretation, and I shall focus on his solution to "the old problem of how the moral theory and the political economy mesh" (21). Griswold argues, "Smith sees himself as synthesizing an ancient view about the nature of virtue with a modern approach to the problem of the source of moral value. Consequently the moral psychology (especially the notions of sympathy and the impartial spectator) and the virtue theory must be understood in light of each other" (181). Further, "The virtue theory is the moral foundation of Smith's political economy, political theory, and 'natural jurisprudence.' Hence the virtue theory is closely tied to his doctrine of liberty as well as to his views about the pursuit of wealth. However 'ancient' the virtue theory may in some respects be, Smith combines it with a modern view of the social and political institutions appropriate to virtue" (ibid.). With impressive erudition Griswold argues that "taken together . . . TMS and WN form complementary parts of a larger whole" (265), and that Smith thinks "the virtues of a free and commercial society" may be defended on the basis of views espoused in WN: skepticism of state interference in economic and social matters, anti-utopianism, and the doctrine of the invisible hand (21). Yet WN does not place blind faith in laissez faire but advocates social justice, compulsory public education and greater taxes on the rich (254, 264, 359). Has Griswold, then, finally solved the Adam Smith Problem? There remains the problem that WN apparently neglects central themes of TMS: sympathy, the impartial spectator, and benevolence. In TMS virtue has distinctive components: "Concern for our own happiness recommends to us the virtue of prudence: concern for that of other people, the virtues of justice and beneficence" (TMS 262). These constitute perfect virtue: "The man who acts according to the rules of perfect...

Background Understanding the attitudes and perceptions of the general population is necessary for organizing health promotion initiatives. During outbreaks, social media has a significant impact on creating social perceptions. This study aims to identify and examine the emotions expressed and topics of discussion among Indian citizens related to COVID-19 third wave, from the messages posted on Twitter using text mining techniques. Methods Twitter messages (tweets) were downloaded using Twitter API from June 1, 2021 to July 10, 2021. After pre-processing the downloaded messages, 8933 unique tweets from various individuals were taken into account for the analysis. To identify and extract emotions expressed by the people in the Twitter texts, the text mining and sentiment analysis package "syuzhet" in R software was used. In order to identify the concerns and themes of discussion by the public during the pandemic, topic analysis was done using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique. To understand and measure the tweets' reachability in relation to the themes and emotions conveyed, an engagement metrics analysis was also conducted. Results According to the emotional analysis performed on Twitter messages about the COVID-19 third wave, anticipation was exhibited maximum in 4180 tweets, followed by fear in 4070, and trust in 4001 tweets. Results of topic modeling revealed that there were widespread discussions and concerns about preventative measures to deal with the COVID-19 third wave. Engagement metrics verified that the greatest number of individuals liked and retweeted tweets expressing disgust. Maximum people favorited tweets with information on preventive measures for COVID-19, and a large number of individuals re-shared messages comparing various aspects of different COVID-19 waves. Conclusion Data from social media platforms can be used to comprehend public opinions and emotions during pandemics and emergencies. This can assist public health stakeholders in managing pandemic circumstances by planning effective health communication strategies that quickly reach a larger audience. The study's findings will assist stakeholders and public health experts in effectively using social media to communicate information about COVID-19 that combat people's negative emotions and concerns. Future research can use a similar approach to comprehend people's perspectives and concerns during outbreaks and emergency circumstances.

Evaluating the Quality and Reliability of Total Knee Arthroplasty Rehabilitation Exercises on the Social Media Platform TikTok

Social media offers a readily available, cost-effective way for medical experts to disseminate knowledge and shape public health outcomes but also allows for the spread of misinformation. This study aims to analyze burn-related material on social media by creator, content type, and engagement. Facebook, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) were queried with the following search terms: "burn," "burn injury," "burn recovery," and "burn treatment." Identified accounts were then manually screened for relevance. Year of creation and engagement metrics were collected. Accounts were categorized by content and creator type. Data were reported using descriptive statistics and visualized graphically to explore trends. Our search yielded 434 profiles, 234 of which met the inclusion criteria. TikTok had the most engagement at a median of 43,500 followers per account, with 38.3% of accounts focusing on individual experiences of burn survivors primarily on personal accounts (48.3%). In contrast, content on Facebook was related to the promotion of medical services (36.9%), whereas the most represented creator type was medical centers (33.6%). Nonprofits made up 40.4% of accounts on Twitter/X and more than a third of the content focused on patient advocacy, support, or burn prevention (36.5%). Important topics like burn education, prevention, and social support are lacking on major social media platforms. Engagement from burn care organizations and burn experts on social media is necessary. The findings of this study may guide advocates in the burn community on where and how to disseminate information on social media.

This study investigates the influence of music in social media marketing on consumer engagement metrics, focusing on selected provinces in Northern Vietnam. Utilizing a mixedmethod approach combining Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the research examines how various musical elements impact engagement on social media platforms. Data collected from 460 participants through surveys and social media data extraction reveal that music presence, congruence, familiarity, and tempo significantly affect engagement metrics, including overall engagement, brand attitude, content sharing, and viewing duration. The study extends the Stimulus-Organism-Response model and Elaboration Likelihood Model to the context of music in social media marketing, offering novel insights into the complex interplay between auditory elements and consumer behavior in digital environments. The findings provide valuable theoretical contributions to the field of digital marketing and offer practical implications for social media marketers seeking to enhance consumer engagement through strategic use of music in content creation

This study examined how the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and military branches disseminate information about behavioral health topics, including sexual assault and harassment, mental health, resilience, substance use, suicide, and other violence-related issues, through their official media platforms and online newsletters. This is key since a significant number of military personnel experience these issues, yet available health services remain underutilized. The goal is to analyze the frequency, timing, and content of the DoD, military branches, and installations' messaging around these behavioral health topics across their digital communication channels. Researchers manually collected data from official social media accounts (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and online newsletters of the DoD, military branches, and installations from January to November 2021. Data was coded for behavioral health topics, content types, and evidence-based interventions. Engagement metrics were also analyzed for social media posts. The Institutional Review Board of New York University approved the study protocol. The study found notable variations in how frequently different behavioral health topics were addressed across the DoD, military branches, and installations, with sexual assault and harassment, mental health, and suicide prevention being the most prevalent. Messaging often aligned with designated awareness months. The most common content shared about the included behavioral health topics focused on providing information and details about available services, although fewer posts addressed military culture, policies, or program/initiative effectiveness. Social media engagement was highest for mental health, sexual assault and harassment, and suicide-related topics. The findings suggest a lack of coordination and standardization in the military's digital health communication strategies, which can lead to ineffective and undesired outcomes. This study has also identified missed opportunities in military digital communications to leverage evidence-based best practices. Recommendations include developing a cohesive, systematic framework to guide consistent, effective messaging across branches and platforms to better reach and engage the military population on critical behavioral health issues. Although the study provides valuable insights, limitations include its manual data collection process, single-year timeframe, and focus on only three social media platforms. Future studies should expand the scope by including other social media platforms with distinct user demographics and engagement patterns, as well as extended timeframes, to better understand the full landscape of military digital health communication.

Three studies explored how TikTok, a China-owned social media platform, may be manipulated to conceal content critical of China while amplifying narratives that align with Chinese Communist Party objectives. Study I employed a user journey methodology, wherein newly created accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were used to assess the nature and prevalence of content related to sensitive Chinese Communist Party (CCP) issues, specifically Tibet, Tiananmen Square, Uyghur rights, and Xinjiang. The results revealed that content critical of China was made far less available than it was on Instagram and YouTube. Study II, an extension of Study I, investigated whether the prevalence of content that is pro- and anti-CCP on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube aligned with user engagement metrics (likes and comments), which social media platforms typically use to amplify content. The results revealed a disproportionately high ratio of pro-CCP to anti-CCP content on TikTok, despite users engaging significantly more with anti-CCP content, suggesting propagandistic manipulation. Study III involved a survey administered to 1,214 Americans that assessed their time spent on social media platforms and their perceptions of China. Results indicated that TikTok users, particularly heavy users, exhibited significantly more positive attitudes toward China's human rights record and expressed greater favorability toward China as a travel destination. These results are discussed in context of a growing body of literature identifying a massive CCP propaganda bureaucracy devoted to controlling the flow of information in ways that threaten free speech and free inquiry.

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