Moral Animals: Ideals and Constraints in Moral Theory

In Moral Animals, Catherine Wilson Develops A Theory Of Morality Based On Two Fundamental Premises: First, That Moral Progress Implies The Evolution Of Moral Ideals Involving Restraint And Sacrifice; Second, That Human Beings Are Outfitted By Nature With Selfish Motivations, Intentions, And Ambitions, That Place Constraints On What Morality Can Demand Of Them. Formative Claims, She Goes On To Show, Can Be Understood As Projective Hypotheses Concerning The Conduct Of Realistically-described Nonideal Agents In Preferred Fictional Worlds. Such Claims Differ From Empirical Hypotheses, Insofar As The Cannot Be Verified By Observation And Experiment. Yet Many, Though Not All, Moral Claims Are Susceptible Of Confirmation To The Extent That They Command The Agreement Of Well-informed Inquirers. With This Foundation In Place, Wilson Turns To A Defence Of Egalitarianism Intended To Address The Objection That The Importance Of Our Nonmoral Projects, Our Natural Acquisitiveness And Partiality, And Our Meritocratic Commitments Render Social Equality A Mere Abstract Ideal. Employing The Basic Notion Of A Symmetrical Division Of The Co-operative Surplus, She Argues That Social Justice With Respect To Global Disparities In Well-being And In The Condition Of Women Relative To Men Depends On The Relinquishment Of Natural And Acquired Advantage That Is Central To The Concept Of Morality.--jacket. Morality As A System Of Advantage-reducing Imperatives -- Paraworlds And Confirmation -- Limits On Theory I: Costs To Agents -- Limits On Theory Ii: Immanent Standpoints -- The Anonymity Requirement And Counterweight -- The Division Of The Cooperative Surplus -- The Role Of A Merit Principle In Distributive Justice -- Moral Equality And 'natural' Subordination. Catherine Wilson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [302]-312) And Index.