What does this research mean for the field?

Even in contexts of forced separation like penal incarceration, inmates' ethical reflections primarily focus on outside social relationships rather than personal dispositions, demonstrating that sociality is constitutive of ethical reflection. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how the liminal experience of imprisonment influences inmates' ethical reflections and whether moral deliberation focuses on internal personal change or external social relationships.

September 10, 2026Theoretical Criminology

The continuation of sociality by other means: Ethical reflection in prison

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Authors

ABAfonso BentoInstituto Politécnico de Lisboa

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Implication

Ethnographic fieldwork reveals that ethical reflection focuses on external relationships in incarcerated individuals, suggesting sociality remains central to morality despite forced isolation.

Key Points

To examine how the liminal experience of imprisonment influences inmates' ethical reflections and whether moral deliberation focuses on internal personal change or external social relationships.
Conducted ethnographic fieldwork within a Portuguese correctional facility.
Analyzed inmate moral reflections using theoretical concepts from moral anthropology.
Inmates centered their ethical deliberations on outside social relationships rather than on internal dispositions, personal values, or individual beliefs as sought by prison authorities.
Moral deliberation remained fundamentally relational despite institutional measures designed to induce individualized moral autonomy through isolation.
Findings establish sociality as an inherent component of ethical reflection, persisting even during enforced detachment from personal networks.

Cite This Study

Afonso Bento (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa27ab158559d80afc73826 https://doi.org/10.1177/13624806261468382

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Implication

Ethnographic fieldwork reveals that ethical reflection focuses on external relationships in incarcerated individuals, suggesting sociality remains central to morality despite forced isolation.

The continuation of sociality by other means: Ethical reflection in prison

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

The continuation of sociality by other means: Ethical reflection in prison

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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