Two of a kind: Are norms of honor a species of morality?

Abstract

Should the norms of honor cultures be classified as a variety of morality? In this paper, we address this question by considering various empirical bases on which norms can be taxonomically organised. This question is of interest both as an exercise in philosophy of social science, and for its potential implications in meta-ethical debates. Using recent data from anthropology and evolutionary game theory, we argue that the most productive classification emphasizes the strategic role that moral norms play in generating assurance and stabilizing cooperation. Because honor norms have a similar functional role, this account entails honor norms are indeed a variety of moral norm. We also propose an explanation of why honor norms occur in a relatively unified, phenotypically distinctive cluster, thereby explaining why it is tempting to regard them as taxonomically distinct. Sometimes honor demands virtue. An "honor code" requires individuals to abstain from opportunities to cheat, in line with widely shared moral ideas. In many cultures, to be honorable requires generous hospitality, abstinence from theft, and a firm commitment to honesty: all typical moral virtues. But often, norms of honor and norms of morality appear to be in conflict. The early modern European duel encouraged men to engage in lethal violence, sometimes over trivial or contrived slights (Allen and Reed 2006). In cultures that practice "honor killings", victims of rape are sometimes murdered in order to repair family reputation (Chesler 2010). In cultures that practice blood feuds, the retaliatory cycle can lead to dozens of deaths over a period of decades (Boehm 1986). Not only are these seemingly immoral acts occasionally tolerated, they are positively required by the social norms of the honor society. Those who do not follow the relevant norms of honor suffer consequent social disadvantage, ranging from outright punishment to shunning and ostracism. We look at characteristic features of honor norms across different societies and different times to determine whether there is a principled way of distinguishing these

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