The Dialogue of Cultural Traditions: a global perspective

1. The Dialogue of Cultural Traditions: a global perspective Dialogue, Cultural Traditions and Ethics Lecture 4 Challenges to old ways of thinking about ethics William Sweet

2. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics i) modernity • a) reason • i) rationalist-based natural law • - Grotius, Hobbes, Locke • - note: differences of law (a priori and a posteriori) • ii) Enlightenment (and post-Enlightenment) rationalism and scepticism • - Kant; Mill (Hegel, Marx) • - Hume (is/ought) • b) foundationalism • c) the turn to the subject • - Descartes

3. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics i) modernity • a) reason • i) rationalist-based natural law • “The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions”

4. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics “nor can any edict of any body else, in what form soever conceived, or by what power soever backed, have the force and obligation of a law, which has not its sanction from that legislative which the public has chosen and appointed: for without this the law could not have that, which is absolutely necessary to its being a law,* the consent of the society, over whom no body can have a power to make laws, but by their own consent, and by authority received from them ” sect 134

5. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics “Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude! "Have courage to use your own reason!"- that is the motto of enlightenment.” “As things now stand, much is lacking which prevents men from being, or easily becoming, capable of correctly using their own reason in religious matters with assurance and free from outside direction. --- Kant, What is Enlightenment?, 1784

6. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics In every system of morality, which I have hitherto met with, I have always remark'd,that the author proceeds for some time in the ordinary way of reasoning, and establishes the being of a God, or makes observations concerning human affairs; when of a sudden I am surpriz'd to find, that instead of the usual copulations of propositions, is, and is not, I meet with […] an ought, or an ought not. This change is imperceptible; but is, however, of the last consequence. For as this ought, or ought not, expresses some new relation or affirmation, 'tis necessary that it shou'd be observ'd and explain'd; and at the same time that a reason should be given, for what seems altogether inconceivable, how this new relation can be a deduction from others which are entirely different from it . . . . I am persuaded, that this small attention wou'd subvert all the vulgar systems of morality, and let us see, that the distinction of vice and virtue is not founded merely on the relations of objects, nor is perceiv'd by reason. David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature. III, 1. 1

7. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics Foundationalism: A belief is justifiedif and only if (1) it is justified by a basic belief or beliefs, or (2) it is justified by a chain of beliefs that is supported by a basic belief or beliefs, and on which all the others are ultimately based.

8. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics "turn to the subject."(Descartes) - epistemology over metaphysics, - priority of knowledge of the self over knowledge of other things Anything not directly and indubitably knowable by the self needs evidence and justification. This standard for knowledge applied to metaphysical and epistemological questions, and was extended to moral theory and moral practice. two consequences: First, morals need to be justified, second, this must be a justification that can be known by the subject.

9. Modern and postmodern criticisms of Religion / tradition-based Ethics ii) post-modernity • a) religion and tradition as racist, class and gender-based, anthropocentric / ‘speciesist’ • b) some examples • Relations between men and women • Large families, lack of education, arranged marriages (based on social class) • Relations between humans and nature • dominion

10. Postmodern criticisms of of Enlightenment/ reason based Ethics • a) versus rationalism • - rationalism as just another tradition • b) versus anthropomorphism • c) historicity; versus essentialism, natures and natural laws • d) subjectivism • e) the post-modern alternative: Richard Rorty and the education of the sentiments

11. Postmodern criticisms of of Enlightenment/ reason based Ethics a) versus rationalism • - rationalism as just another tradition • “We've replaced God the father with reason, basically. Reason is a wonderful human quality, but it's just one of the human qualities and it's by putting it up on the throne all by itself that we've cause it to do the opposite of what it ought to be doing. We've turned it into unreason.” • -- John Ralston Saul • "[T]here is no way to settle ourselves in beliefs beyond doubt by rational means" • --Richard Rorty, 1993: 162.

12. Cultural diversity and pluralism • a) relativism and subjectvism • some examples • b) anti-foundationalism and humanist-based ethics • c) ethics by convention • c) anti-humanism (eco-philosophy and deep ecology)

13. Ethics by convention • E.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) • human centred • designed to achieve certain underlying values • E.g., human being as autonomous and equal • has become "deeply rooted" and is recognised • No moral or natural foundationalism. • Rights - the product of historical accident; may change. • serve as a regulative political ideal

14. Conclusion