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Beyond Moral Fundamentalism

Toward a Pragmatic Pluralism

Fesmire, Steven (Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Professor of Philosophy and Department Chair of Philosophy & Religious Studies, Radford University)

Beyond Moral Fundamentalism

Beyond Moral Fundamentalism

Toward a Pragmatic Pluralism

Beyond Moral Fundamentalism

 

“Moral fundamentalism” is Steven Fesmire's term for the habit of acting as though one has access to the exclusively right way to diagnose problems, along with the only practical solution. This habit 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.


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Beschrijving Beyond Moral Fundamentalism

While complex global problems cry out for solutions devised with moral sensitivity and 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. Philosopher Steven Fesmire calls this approach “moral fundamentalism,” the idea that only we have access to the right diagnosis and prescription to our problems. Moral fundamentalism causes us to oversimplify, neglect broader context, take refuge in dogmatic absolutes, ignore possibilities for common ground, assume privileged access to the right way to proceed, and shut off honest inquiry. Moral fundamentalism--exacerbated by social media silos--also makes the worst of native impulses toward social bonding and antagonism. This depletes social capital and makes it impossible to debate and achieve superordinate goals, such as public health, justice, security, sustainability, peace, and democracy.

Drawing from John Dewey's pluralistic and pragmatic approach, Fesmire develops an alternative to the oversimplification of moral fundamentalism and the arbitrariness of relativism. He proposes a “pragmatic pluralism” that can be applied to complex ethical, political, educational, and policy problems--without flattening variability among values or presuming that abstract theories determine what we ought to do. He argues that the single-right-way premise that logically underlies moral fundamentalism is both unwarranted and constrictive, and that grand philosophical quests for unifying principles can still be accommodated within a wider pluralistic approach. In an engaging style, Fesmire shows the reader a new perspective on the challenges and promises of democratic decision-making in societies that are struggling to grow beyond moral fundamentalism.


ISBN
9780197763889
Pagina's
240
Verschenen
Rubriek
Filosofie
Druk
1
Uitvoering
Hardback
Taal
Engels
Uitgever
OUP USA

Filosofie