Beyond moral fundamentalism

• Verfasst von: Fesmire, Steven [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Beyond moral fundamentalism
• Titelzusatz: toward a pragmatic pluralism
• Verf.angabe: Steven Fesmire
• Verlagsort: New York, NY
• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: [2024]
• Umfang: 1 online resource
• Illustrationen: illustrations.
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Oxford scholarship online
• Fussnoten: Includes bibliographical references and index. - Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on June 13, 2024)
• ISBN: 978-0-19-776391-9
• DOI: doi:10.1093/9780197763919.001.0001
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Bibliogr. Hinweis: Erscheint auch als : Druck-Ausgabe
• Sach-SW: Philosophy
• Sach-SW: Ethics & moral philosophy
• K10plus-PPN: 1897425791
• K10plus-PPN:
  Universitätsbibliothek
• Lokale URL UB: Zum Volltext

Abstract

While complex global problems cry out for solutions devised with moral sensitivity & responsibility, a more common mentality tends to prevail, one that assumes those going the right way ('us') are endangered by others ('them') going the wrong way. Steven Fesmire calls this approach 'moral fundamentalism,' the idea that only we have access to the right diagnosis & prescription to our problems. Moral fundamentalism causes us to oversimplify, neglect broader context, take refuge in dogmatic absolutes, ignore possibilities, assume privileged access to the right way to proceed, & shut off honest inquiry. Moral fundamentalism also makes the worst of native impulses toward social bonding & antagonism. This depletes social capital & makes it impossible to debate & achieve superordinate goals, such as public health, justice, security, sustainability, peace, & democracy.

Abstract

"Moral fundamentalism is the habit of acting as though one has access to the exclusively right way to diagnose problems, along with the single approvable practical solution to any particular problem. This approach causes us to oversimplify situations, neglect broader context, take refuge in dogmatic absolutes, ignore possibilities for finding common ground, assume privileged access to the right way to proceed, and shut off honest inquiry. In this way, moral fundamentalism-exacerbated by social media silos-also makes the worst of native impulses toward social bonding and antagonism. This makes it impossible to debate and achieve superordinate social goals, such as public health, justice, security, sustainability, peace, and democracy. Drawing from John Dewey's pluralistic and pragmatic approach to philosophical questions, Steven Fesmire develops an alternative to both the oversimplification of moral fundamentalism and the arbitrariness of relativism. His pragmatic pluralism is set up as a response to particular conditions and consequences, so it gains practical leverage with complex ethical, political, educational, and policy problems without flattening variability among values or presuming that abstract theories can determine what we ought to do. He argues that the reductive monistic premise that logically underlies moral fundamentalism is both unwarranted and constrictive, and there is little to be said in favor of the grand philosophical quest for a unifying principle that cannot be accommodated within a wider pluralistic approach. In a concrete and engaging style, Fesmire clarifies and illustrates the promises and challenges of democratic decision-making in societies struggling to grow beyond moral fundamentalism"--