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178364

Interpretive moral wrongs and Radical theorising

Peter Lucas

pp. 83-102

Abstract

The account of objectification offered in Chapter 5 raises a number of questions concerning the relationship between the analysis of interpretive moral wrongs and radical theorising. This chapter aims to show, via a range of examples (Martha Nussbaum's reformist attempt to analyse sexual objectification; Marx's analysis of commodification; and the ethics of genetic databases), that an ethic of self-interpretation, suited to tackle interpretive moral wrongs, must adopt a radical rather than a reformist theoretical approach. The chapter, and Part I of the book, closes by drawing together themes from the preceding four chapters, to arrive at an interim conclusion, concerning the normative grounds of an ethic of self-interpretation. Kant held that respecting the dignity of human persons requires us to respect above all their capacity for principled self-determining action. I argue that respect for ontological persons also crucially involves respecting their dignity, through respecting their capacity for undistorted self-interpretation, and self-knowledge. This points the way to a distinctive and enduring role for an ethical principle of respect for ontological persons.

Publication details

Published in:

Lucas Peter (2011) Ethics and self-knowledge: respect for self-interpreting agents. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 83-102

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-1560-8_6

Full citation:

Lucas Peter (2011) Interpretive moral wrongs and Radical theorising, In: Ethics and self-knowledge, Dordrecht, Springer, 83–102.