Morality, Beauty, and Wholeness
How Kant grounds morality in our capacity to recognize beauty and act from wholeness
On the first day of my introduction to ethics classes, I ask students if they think we can judge others’ actions and decision based on our own moral standards. Nearly all of them say no, suggesting everyone can “decide for themselves what is moral.” I can understand the value of this tolerant attitude towards alternative value systems. Claims to the moral superiority of Christianity and Western civilization have, and continue to, lead to both cultural erasure, violence, and even genocide. However, I think we should be careful. Over enthusiasm concerning tolerance can very easily imply amorality. For example, after this opening question, I point out to the students that based on the principle of moral relativity they expose, we cannot criticize obvious evils such as racism or the strong preying on the weak through violence. This leads us to an important question: is there a way to justify moral standards without referring to the superiority of one cultural value system over others?
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