Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy

Pragmatist Reconstruction in Ethical Theory

Todd Lekan

• Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9780826591654
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy History & Theory

In this new contribution to moral theory, Todd Lekan argues for a pragmatist conception of morality as an evolving, educational, and fallible practice of everyday life. Drawing on the work of John Dewey, Lekan asserts that moral norms are neither timeless truths nor subjective whims, but habits transmitted through practices. Like the habits that make up medicine or engineering, moral habits are subject to rational evaluation and change according to new challenges and circumstances. This pragmatic interpretation of morality provides a way out of the conundrum of relativism and absolutism.

Building on classical American philosophy to address current philosophical concerns, Lekan's theory revises our basic understanding of moral life and the place of theorizing within that life. Making Morality will prove of great interest to ethical theorists, as it enjoins them to measure theoretical inquiries by how well they produce intellectual tools for problem-solving in dynamic, complex communities.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Pragmatic Metaethics as Revisionism
• 1. A Pragmatic Account of Practical Knowledge
• 2. The Goods in Activities
• 3. Between Universalism and Particularism
• 4. The Boundaries and Authority of Morality: A Pragmatist View
• 5. Pragmatist Social Criticism
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index