Ethik als Methode : Zwischen Universalismus und Partikularismus

Abstract

The idea that all ethical problems can be resolved with only one moral principle – be that Kant’s Categorical Imperative or the utilitarian principle of maximising utility – is not only fundamentally misguided, but also incapable of doing justice to the complexity of moral reality. The present book shows the foundations of »ethics as a method « and thereby stems itself substantially against traditional ethical theory. The suggested ethical method allows one to discuss and resolve moral issues in the grey area between the claims of universalism and particularism. Only a moral expert is capable to understand the complex relations of holistic moral reality in an appropriate way and to find a proper solution for every ethical problem. Whereas ethical theories so far have only been approximate evaluations of certain parts of moral reality, the moral expert now appears as a person who takes into view the entirety of moral reality. The complexity of a difficult moral problem can only be appreciated appropriately when we employ a pluralistic ethical method.