Abstract
As an introduction to the “Future” section of this volume, this chapter suggests several key promising research and theory-building directions for ethics scholarship in media and communications. First, continued philosophical explication will continue to show how the work of individual theorists and philosophers might enrich the theoretical sophistication of the fields. Second, advancements through the intersection of philosophy and theorizing on technology will open up new ways of understanding. Third, moral psychology approaches will continue to provide avenues to explore moral motivation, moral identity, and ethics-related decision-making. And finally, work to update media sociology scholarship and “hierarchies of influence” approaches will increasingly incorporate morally-relevant factors on both the individual and organizational levels.
