An ethics of idealismWhat is an idealist ethicsAt the personal levelAt the level of community

Slide 1:

An ethics of idealism What is an idealist ethics? At the personal level At the level of community

Slide 2:

William Sweet �Philosophical Foundations, Cultural Integrity, and Human Rights,� in Universitas - Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture [Fu Jen University], 354 (November 2003): 183-194. [English and Chinese] �Philosophy, Culture, and the Future of Tradition� in Dialogue between Christian Philosophy and Chinese Culture, (ed. Paschal Ting and George F. McLean), Washington, DC: Council for Research and Values in Philosophy, 2002 �Value Inquiry, Cultural Diversity, and Ecumenism,� in The Future of Value Inquiry, (ed. Matti H�yry and Tuija Takala), [Value Inquiry Book Series 112], Amsterdam: Rodopi Publishers, 2001, pp. 173-183.

Slide 3:

personal level Assumptions: human beings have natures, functions, and purposes Have a rational end -> flourishing capacities and potentialities that must be developed � preferably by themselves (�self-realization�) Are social; live in community; historical beings participate in practices, have functions, traditions, cultures rooted in a series of (natural and social) relations. �station and its duties� (F.H. Bradley) Are individual, free, autonomous �social� and �individual� dimensions brought together by (the recognition of) a common good.

Slide 4:

What follows? a common good community is �rational� one�s identity or self is based in community the possibility of membership in a spiritual community (but not required) people have (natural) duties to that community individuals called to build community (solidarity) community requires diversity

Slide 5:

this approach to ethics does not dictate a particular model of human flourishing does not exclude particular goods or practices in advance recognizes that different situations give rise to different understandings of the good recognizes that all understandings of the good are incomplete (teleological, but not closed) is open to metaphysics and religion, though does not require them is open to new experience has a focus on practice and on community life

Slide 6:

(in principle) respectful of traditions, although no existing institution is �complete� recognises that reality is diverse, that different minds could uncover it � and that different people do uncover it in different ways. no inherent conflict between the individual and the community pluralistic; no particular expression of the good is privileged a focus on moral practice and �ethical activism� and, therefore, rights recognises value in laws and institutions as manifestations of human spirit and activity these elements serve as points from which discussion can begin has the potential to cross cultural boundaries

Slide 7:

community level Assumptions Communication occurs There is a common / shared space (interests, values, and ideas) the nature and value of life (objective and material conditions--e.g., food, water, shelter and security, as well as satisfaction of intellectual, moral and spiritual, needs). these needs are common needs we are capable of sharing a discourse or language and �practices� with others to pursue these interests

Slide 8:

There is mutual recognition of one another as beings with whom we can live and act a recognition that all do or can share a number of beliefs, attitudes, and opinions, about basic human needs how nature works (�dominant ideas.�) these ideas and interests are objective are necessary to practices, culture and traditions There are dominant ideas the set of the dominant ideas in a culture defines that culture�s tradition and its morals. Dominant ideas are not arbitrary or casual (but not necessary) Dominant ideas are not static Dominant ideas have a claim on us and provide a way through which we understand the world around us. Continued Dialogue is possible

Slide 9:

Other Presuppositions participants in dialogue recognise: 1) that different perspectives are ultimately committed to the recognition of truth, and of acting on this truth; 2) these different perspectives contain 'truth�; 3) there is a truth or set of truths which all do or can come to share, and all cultures share in some truth; 4) no one group has articulated (or can articulate) all the truth--that there can be a growth in one's understanding of one's own truth; 5) these truths are to be found in the values and the facts present in the experience, discourse, and other practices of all;

Slide 10:

6) that one's 'local' or 'personal' views � �comprehensive doctrines� � are inseparable from what one is, and cannot be separated into a private sphere, independent of the public realm; 7) all discussion must begin with these basic commitments. challenge the claims that separation of the public and private is possible, that separation of private conviction from public discourse is necessary for social harmony, and that there is a purely neutral position�each perspective is another 'commitment' to be brought into dialogue.

Slide 11:

Conditions for success (summary) the respect of others in their differences there are interests, values, and concerns among people of different cultural traditions that all share, these values, interests, and concerns are shared because there is a fundamental non-arbitrary relation between them and how the world--reality--is. Exhibit integrity Don�t have to agree (at least, to begin with) about which values are superior to others. Don�t restrict to / reduce to / solely the set of presently existing human individuals.

Slide 12:

Implications: cultural identity and cultural integrity What is identity? a notoriously vague and puzzling notion involves continuity and stability of consciousness over time involves coherence in one�s ideas and beliefs. requires a sameness that is more than a continuity the presence of a systematic way of organizing or addressing one�s desires and wishes--i.e., one�s will having a history--a past, and the promise or expectation of a future

Slide 13:

Implications: cultural identity and cultural integrity often want to identify what it is that distinguishes one person from another, but also acknowledge that they have a good deal in common does not imply. something that that person has any control over does not follow that it is an intrinsic value See: �Philosophical Foundations, Cultural Integrity, and Human Rights,� in Universitas - Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture [Fu Jen University], 354 (November 2003): 183-194. [English and Chinese]

Slide 14:

(personal) integrity suggests a �wholeness� and consistency; opposed to incoherence and inconsistency involves a person�s basic beliefs and values; these beliefs and values form a �whole�; one acts in a way is consistent or coherent with those beliefs and values, and does so in a way that others can count on. is a disposition--i.e., a way of looking at and approaching the world, and a habitual intention to act. we hold basic beliefs and values, but does not mean that we always hold all the same beliefs and values.

Slide 15:

(personal) integrity responds to novel situations in a way that is generally consistent with the past; seeks to bring the present new situation into coherence with past experience not (just) a matter of repetition of past actions or acting out of habit. new experience calls us out of ourselves to act with integrity integrity requires not just being true to one�s past principles, beliefs, and values, but also being true to the reality of the situation. requires freedom and rights

Slide 16:

We can extend the notion of integrity to cultures parallels cultures have an identity that reflects a way of life, cultures have basic principles or values or beliefs that are (more or less) coherent with one another and exhibit a �wholeness� and consistency. culture (or its agents and leaders) have a disposition to act culture (or its agents and leaders) must act in a way that is consistent with cultural identity and dominant ideas. no luxury of deciding for itself how and when to engage in dialogue and exchange.

Slide 17:

We can extend the notion of integrity to cultures cultures that exhibit cultural integrity encounter novel situations and must respond in a way that takes account of that novelty seriously. seek coherence with this novelty--and so must respond with creativity this response will often lead to some change in the culture cultures need not always reflect all the same views just as personal integrity requires freedom and rights, so cultural integrity also requires freedom and rights a culture may not have the luxury of deciding for itself how and when to engage in dialogue and exchange.

Slide 18:

Conclusion