neiman-2009.html

Neiman, S. (2009). Moral Clarity: A guide for grown-up idealists. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.

starts with the story of how Abraham negotiated with God to save the innocents that might be in Sodom

the judgement needed was slow, specific and seldom absolute

moralizing starts after people are fed <!-- often invoked when we're talking about the seemingly extra good that comes from preserving the environment -->

pg - 14 - "Fundamentalists like to claim that the moral code that flows from their faith needs no intellect to follow."

pg 15 - "fundamentalist authorities deny that unadorned human reason can decide question of right or justice of truth"

"But instructions are rarely self-evident, and holy books are written in codes that must be deciphered like any others.

<!-- all of these apply to eco-ethics as well as worship of dieties -->

pg 16 - two paradigms

laws are self-evident and need to be followed to the letter (fundamentalist)

rules are provided that must be thought out thoroughly and used to make some meaning (rationalist)

"many a fundamentalist is closer to postmodern nihlism than he knows."

pg 18 - liberals avoid universal values because they see how they have been abused

"Don't be judgmental is now firmly embedded in a secular, liberal jargon."

representing that we need to be aware that not all the world shares our assumptions

not to impose your moral view on someone else

pg 19 - relying on evolutionary arguments such as about trust and altruism, or economic arguments such as elightened self-interest

claim by Dawkins the "biological self interest cannot account for the kinds of sacrifice we hold central to moral experience."

pg 20 - Bishop Joseph Butler (18th century founder of Natural Theology) talked about "providence: the assumption that virtue and happiness are perfectly balanced by an invisible guiding hand."

<!-- compare to Adam Smith's invisible hand that leads to progress -->

pg 26 - liberals need to reclaim the use of words such as" good and evil, hero and dignity and nobility"