Zjawisko paniki moralnej jako wyznacznik granic moralności
The Phenomenon of Moral Panic as a Determinant of the Moral Boundaries of Society

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the concept of “moral panic”, which has been described as a disproportional social reaction to a condition, person or group perceived as a threat to societal order and values. The concept of moral panic is being discussed as a marker of the moral boundaries of society. In the first part, the historical roots of the concept are presented. In the second section, after defining the concept of moral panic and discussing its main characteristics, the role of media has been described. Usually it is the mass media that plays an important role in creating a situation in which exaggerated fear is manufactured about topics that are seen to have a moral component. One finds that moral panic is more likely to occur and seize members of a society when moral boundaries are fuzzy and shifting. Hence, in the final section, we focused on the role of moral panic in redrawing and strengthening society’s moral boundaries.

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