Can’t We Make Moral Judgements?

Description

How many times do we hear the statement ‘It's not for me to judge’? It conveys one of the most popular ideas of our time: that to make judgements of others is essentially wrong. In this classic text, the renowned moral philosopher Mary Midgley turns a spotlight on the ever popular stance in society that we should not make moral judgements on others. Guiding the reader through the diverse approaches to this complex subject, she interrogates our strong beliefs about such things as the value of freedom that underlie our scepticism about making moral judgements. She shows how the question of whether or not we can make these judgements must inevitably affect our attitudes not only to the law and its institutions but also to events that occur in our daily lives, and suggests that mistrust of moral judgements may be making life even harder for us than it would be otherwise. The texts and philosophers discussed range from Nietzsche and Sartre to P.D. James and the Bhagavad Gita. The Bloomsbury Revelations edition includes a new preface from the author. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface to the Bloomsbury Revelations Edition Introduction Chapter 1 Can We Base Freedom on Ignorance? The paradox High-minded scepticism Problems of false universality Difficulties of the extra-terrestrial position Notes Chapter 2 Starting From Where We Are Unpacking the parcel The indignant reformers Are amoralists moralists? The background: Why freedom matters Sorting out the moral issues The neutrality of examples Notes Chapter 3 Why There is Trouble Over Knowledge Scepticism and the quest for safety Foundation trouble The problem of safety What is scientific? Many kinds of knowledge Where would morality come in? How do we decide about facts? What judgement is Notes Chapter 4 Scepticism and Liberty The possibility of sceptical humbug Lopsided applications reveal false universality Punishment, cruelty and indignation Further directions Chapter 5 Why Must We Not Interfere? Outer and inner freedom The tyranny of custom Marking out the private sphere Why freedom matters Notes Chapter 6 The Fear of Society Dramas of confrontation Keeping company The uses of tradition What is society? Chapter 7 The Public Side of Morality What morality is The social role of private conscience Freedom and education Originality and continuity Chapter 8 Individuals in the Modern Melting-pot The progressive escalator Progress and science Lonely crowds New society, new individual Generation trouble The American factor The price of freedom Forgetting the biosphere Notes Chapter 9 Individualism, Solitude and Privacy The exaltation of independence Individualistic extremes Moderate individualism; public and private spheres Front-door privacy Notes Chapter 10 Morality and Harm One-person privacy; the criterion of harm to others Children and others What sort of life, what sort of harm? Conclusion: The importance of the communal Chapter 11 Rethinking Relativism The problem of clashing customs The sacredness of custom Conformity and fashion Symbol and meaning Plurality and tolerance Simple relativism Sceptical relativism The imperialist model Judgement is not interference The use of limited scepticism Notes Chapter 12 How Large is a Culture? Can others judge us? Cultures are not monoliths Who are outsiders? The deeper unity Sources of the monolith myth Conclusion: The uses and limitations of relativism Notes Chapter 13 Varieties of Subjectivism Specimens – the sound of trumpets The lone creator The problem of private validity Pots and kettles Authority and independence Can subjectivists moralize? Emergencies and the bourgeois predicament Marks of the epoch Notes Chapter 14 The Problem of Private Validity Has obligation vanished? Theory and practice Lumping and splitting The need to choose Judging not that we be not judged Chapter 15 Social Darwinist Egoism The American predicament; Ayn Rand Moral or no moral? Believing in the survival of the fittest The elusiveness of subjectivism Heroic or therapeutic isolation? For instance Just a matter of priority? Is anybody well? Notes Chapter 16 Moving Forward Through the Modern World What we can still see Processes of fragmentation Effects on politics Notes Chapter 17 Doubts, Reasonable and Otherwise Problems about certainty Descartes’ experiment Doubt needs direction Irrational doubting Facts and values Trouble with standards Emotivism The importance of degrees The problem of the hypothetical refuter The need for commitment Notes Chapter 18 What About Values? Call in the context What security do we need? The meaning of moral diversity What do we do about conflict? The place of feeling What explanation does Emotional difficulties are real What kind of explanation? Whole and half truths Notes Chapter 19 Back to the Main Question The moral case against morals The celestial option Earthly options: Other species, other solutions How are humans different? On having a past and a future Perceptions of the heart Problems of guilt Does humanity need continuity? Notes Chapter 20 How Much Have Things Changed? Are moral dilemmas something new? Extremes are misleading Moral dilemmas and tragedy Older dilemmas Is metaphysics a luxury? Notes Envoi Index of Proper Names