Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 60 (5):443-465 (2017)
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Abstract |
Ever since the introduction of reflective equilibrium in ethics, it has been argued that reflective equilibrium either leads to moral relativism, or that it turns out to be a form of intuitionism in disguise. Despite these criticisms, reflective equilibrium remains the most dominant method of moral justification in ethics. In this paper, I therefore critically examine the most recent attempts to defend the method of reflective equilibrium against these objections. Defenders of reflective equilibrium typically respond to the objections by saying that either reflective equilibrium can in fact safeguard moral objectivity or alternatively, even if it cannot, that there simply are no reasonable alternatives. In this paper, I take issue with both responses. First, I argue that given the non-foundationalist aspirations of reflective equilibrium, moral objectivity cannot be maintained. Second, I argue that reflective equilibrium is not the only game in town once intuitionism has been discarded. I argue that given their own normative ambitions, combined with their rejection of intuitionism, proponents of reflective equilibrium have reason to take alternative methods of moral justification, and more specifically transcendental arguments, more seriously than they have done so far. I end by sketching the outlines of what this alternative methodology might look like.
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Keywords | reflective equilibrium coherentism transcendental arguments moral objectivity foundationalism intuitionism John Rawls Moral relativism |
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Reprint years | 2017 |
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DOI | 10.1080/0020174x.2016.1175377 |
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References found in this work BETA
The Second Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect, and Accountability.Stephen Darwall - 1996 - Harvard University Press.
A Darwinian Dilemma for Realist Theories of Value.Sharon Street - 2006 - Philosophical Studies 127 (1):109-166.
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Citations of this work BETA
The Social Fabric of Understanding: Equilibrium, Authority, and Epistemic Empathy.Christoph Jäger & Federica Isabella Malfatti - 2020 - Synthese 199 (1-2):1185-1205.
Sidgwick, Reflective Equilibrium and the Triviality Charge.Michael W. Schmidt - 2021 - In Michael Schefczyk & Christoph Schmidt-Petri (eds.), Utility, Progress, and Technology: Proceedings of the 15th Conference of the International Society for Utilitarian Studies. Karlsruhe, Deutschland: pp. 247-258.
Principlist Pandemics: On Fraud Ethical Guidelines and the Importance of Transparency.Jonathan Lewis & Udo Schuklenk - 2022 - In Michael Boylan (ed.), Ethical Public Health Policy Within Pandemics: Theory and Practice in Ethical Pandemic Administration. Cham: Springer. pp. 131-148.
Universal Principle of Right: Metaphysics, Politics, and Conflict Resolutions.Sorin Baiasu - 2018 - Kantian Review 23 (4):527-554.
The Value of Transparent Self-Knowledge.Fleur Jongepier - 2021 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 24 (1):65-86.
View all 11 citations / Add more citations
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