Relational Ethics and Partiality

Theoria 64 (152):53-76 (2017)
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Abstract

In this article, I question the plausibility of Metz’s African moral theory from an oft neglected moral topic of partiality. Metz defends an Afro-communitarian moral theory that posits that the rightness of actions is entirely definable by relationships of identity and solidarity. I offer two objections to this relational moral theory. First, I argue that justifying partiality strictly by invoking relationships ultimately fails to properly value the individual for her own sake – this is called the ‘focus problem’ in the literature. Second, I argue that a relationship-based theory cannot accommodate the agent-related partiality since it posits some relationship to be morally fundamental. My critique ultimately reveals the inadequacy of a relationship-based moral theory insofar as it overlooks some crucial moral considerations grounded on the individual herself in her own right.

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edition Molefe, Motsamai (2017) "Relational Ethics and Partiality: A Critique of Thad Metz’s ‘Towards an African Moral Theory’". Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory 64(152):53-76

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Motsamai Molefe
University of Witwatersrand

References found in this work

Toward an African Moral Theory.Thaddeus Metz - 2007 - Journal of Political Philosophy 15 (3):321–341.
African and Western Moral Theories in a Bioethical Context.Thaddeus Metz - 2009 - Developing World Bioethics 10 (1):49-58.
Ubuntu as a Moral Theory: Reply to Four Critics.Thaddeus Metz - 2007 - South African Journal of Philosophy 26 (4):369-87.

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