Natural Moralities: A Defense of Pluralistic Relativism
In this book, David B. Wong defends an ambitious and important new version of moral relativism. He does not espouse the type of relativism that says anything goes, but he does start with a relativist stance against alternative theories such that there need not be only one universal truth. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities existing across different traditions and cultures, all with one core human question as to how we can all live together.
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David B. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities, moralities that exist across different traditions and cultures, all of which address facets of the same problem: how we are to live well together. Wong examines a wide array of positions and texts within the Western canon as well as in Chinese philosophy, and draws on philosophy, psychology, evolutionary theory, history, and literature, to make a case for the importance of pluralism in moral life, and to establish the virtues of acceptance and accommodation. Wong's point is that there is no single value or principle or ordering of values and principles that offers a uniquely true path for human living, but variations according to different contexts that carry within them a common core of human values. We should thus be modest about our own morality, learn from other approaches, and accommodate different practices in our pluralistic society.
Introduction xiHow Pluralism and Naturalism Make for Natural MoralitiesPluralism and Ambivalence 5Pluralistic Relativism 29Objections and Replies 76Constraints on Natural MoralitiesIdentity, Flourishing, and Relationship 115Community and Liberal Theory 146Does Psychological Realism Constrain the Content of Moralities? 159Having Confidence in Our Moral CommitmentsMoral Reasons-Internal and External 179Morality and Need 202Coping with Moral Difference 228Bibliography 273Index 287
