Moralism as a Dualism in Ethics and Politics

Political Philosophy 1 (2): 432–462. 2024. doi:10.16995/pp.17532

Argues that both moralism in ethics and political moralism originate from a problematic dualism that transforms the useful distinction between the moral and the non-moral into a rigid divide. As the historical comparison with ancient Greek thought shows, this obscures genuine conflicts of values and fails to adequately address complex political realities such as “dirty hands” situations.

ethics, ethical theory, value conflict, moral luck, agency, responsibility

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