Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ T. M. Scanlon on What We Owe to Each Other

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Good interview with T. M. Scanlon, the author of What We Owe to Each Other, which takes on the question  "why be moral?" He argies that "the largest number of people really do care about the aspect of morality that I'm talking about: that is, the ability to justify their actions to others." But I think there's an important distinction between this approach and one based in, say, a philosophy of care, and that's the transactional element. It's much harder, I think, to say "I don't care" than it is to say "I don't owe you anything", because when we talk about something being "owed" it's easy to fall back into an economic argument that allows you to maximize your personal gain. Morality isn't something that can be quantified, like debt, it's something that is felt, like care. Still, read the article and see whether you agree.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 4:31 p.m.

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