July 24, 2002

Chapter 2

What Exactly Is It to Make a Moral Judgment? – An Ontology of Morality

[URL: Chapter2]

Introduction

            I          On Part II (“The Interpersonal: Relating Face to Face”)

            II         On the Present Chapter

The Problem of the Right

            I          The Good and the Right

            II         Case Study: Ethics vs. Morality in the Controversy over Gay Rights

            III        Implications for the Right of the Unprovability of the Good

How Did You Get in Here? – Empathy and the Representation of the Other

            I          Why Empathize?

            II         A Solipsistic, Relativistic Morality?

            III        Morality As Introjection

            IV       Case Study: The Moral Status of Praise, Blame, Reward, Revenge, Shame, and Guilt

            V         Morality As Cognitive Accomplishment

            VI       Morality and Authenticity

            VII      Empathy vs. Projection / Anthropomorphism

Case Study: Our Relationships with Animals and Other Moral Patients – and Rocks?

            I          Happy and Me: The Possibility of Nonlinguistic Agreements

            II         More Animals: Counseling Charlie’s Cat

            III        More Animals: The Tellington-Touch Method

            IV       Relating to Tigers: Empathy Without Reciprocity; Morality Not an Agreement

            V         Anthropomorphization and Empathy: Is It All Just an Illusion?

            VI       Relating to My Late Father

            VII      Relating to Rocks?

            VIII     The Morality of Cannibalism

            IX       Empathy with the Fetus?

            X         Conclusion

A Summary Formulation of the Ways of Relating Perspective: The Concepts of “Ways of Relating” and the Relational Principle

            I          Ways of Relating

            II         The Relational Principle

            III        The Issue of False Sincerity

            IV       The Agreement Problem and the Acceptance of the Other as Part of One’s Moral Universe

                        A         The Acceptance of the Other

                        B         The Agreement Problem

                                    1          The Limits of Empathy

                                    2          Decisions Must Be Made Willy-Nilly

            V         Realism and Reciprocity

Coming to Agreement in a First Moment of Moral Judgment

            I          The First Moment

            II         The Ways of Relating Perspective and the Utilitarian Impulse

Are Morality and Authenticity Isomorphic?

            I          xx

The Problem of Evil, Demons, and Moral Monsters

            I          Defining Evil

            II         The Undecidability of Evil’s Existence

                        A         Origins within the Other of Behavior Taken to Show S/He Is Evil

                        B         Origins within Oneself of False Perceptions of Evil

            III        The WoRP’s Approach: Leaving Evil’s Existence Undecidable

            IV       The Usual Approach: Premature Closure of Inquiry and the Assumption of Evil

            V         Case Study: The Mugger in Law and Order

            VI       The Civil Trial vs. Mutual Responsibility in a Shared Moral Universe

Why Be Moral? The Motivation Problem

            I          xx