|
|
Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Ethics & moral philosophy
Traditional moral theory usually has either of two emphases:
virtuous moral character or principles for distributing duties and
goods. Zone Morality introduces a third focus: families and
businesses are systems created by the causal reciprocities of their
members. These relations embody the duties and permissions of a
system's moral code. Core systems satisfy basic interests and
needs; we move easily among them hardly noticing that moral demands
vary from system to system. Moral conflicts arise because of
discord within or among systems but also because morality has three
competing sites: self-assertive, self-regarding people; the moral
codes of systems; and regulative principles that enhance social
cohesion. Each wants authority to control the other two. Their
struggles make governance fragile. A strong church or authoritarian
government reduces conflict by imposing its rules, but democracy
resists that solution. Procedural democracy is a default position.
Its laws and equitable procedures defend people or systems having
diverse interests when society fails to create a public that would
govern for the common interest.
|
|