Speaking Ethically Across Borders: Anthropological, Philosophical and Historical Approaches
Convenor: Jonathan Mair (Jonathan Mair, Mellon Newton Fellow 2012-2014) Alternate Tuesdays in Lent term, 12-2pm at CRASSH Alison Richard Building (S1) · 7 West Road · Cambridge · CB3 9DT. *Please email Jonathan Mair at [email protected] if you wish to attend these seminars* ------- When we are in familiar settings, the differences between tradition, habit, and pragmatic efficiency on the one hand, and ethical considerations about value and duty are frequently elided: there are a limited number of given, concrete ways of living life, and most of our choices will be made from among them. Even innovations justified on moral grounds will silently incorporate much that is conventional. But when people speak ethically across regional boundaries, they must face the problem of finding ways to render the ethics of different regions commensurate, either by translating local, thick ethical practices of one or both sides into the thin common currency of some universalist morality, or by claiming that, in so far as the essentials are concerned, what appear to be quite different values or practices are in fact compatible. In either case, there is a need to agree on a place to draw the line dividing universal or shared essence from contingent cultural convention, to decide whether it is the specific practices that are valued, or only the underlying principle, only their effects, or some combination of these. This makes these conversations an ideal site for scholars interested in understanding moral reasoning and its relation to practice. 29 January: Rooted cosmopolitanisms Nussbaum, M. 2008. Toward a globally sensitive patriotism. Daedalus 137, 78-93. Turner, B. 2002. Cosmopolitan Virtue, Globalization and Patriotism. Theory, Culture & Society 19, 45-63. 12 February: Moral commensurability across cultures Tiles, J. E. 2000. Conflict and the Search for Standards. In Moral Measures: An Introduction to Ethics West and East, 70-95. London: Routledge. Mungello, D. E. 1977. Chapter 7. In Leibniz and Confucianism, the search for accord, 200. Honolulu: Univ of Hawaii Press. 26 February: Morality and the objectification of culture Robbins, J. 2004. Conclusion: Christianity, Cultural Change, and the Moral Life of the Hybrid. In Becoming Sinners, 313-334. Berkeley: University of California Press. Roy, O. 2006. Islam in the West or Western Islam? The disconnect of religion and culture. Hedgehog Review 8, 127. 12 March: Disentangling moral and conventional rules Nado, J., D. Kelly & S. Stich 2009. Moral judgment. In Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Psychology (eds) J. Symons & P. Calvo. London: Routledge. Ahn, J. W. 2005. A Jesuit's Views on Chinese Marriage: Manuel Dias, S.J. (1549-1639). 1-10. Part of the Cultures and Politics of the Transregional Theme at CRASSH ---- _____________________________________________________ Sent by the CamPhilEvents mailing list. To unsubscribe or change your membership options, please visit the list information page: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEvents Posts are archived here: http://bit.ly/CamPhilEventsArchive
