The Diversity of Morals

Montag, 26. April, 19 Uhr c. t.
Campus Bockenheim, Mertonstraße 17–21, Hörsaal I

Talk of morality has hitherto mainly been the preserve of its academic guardians, namely phi­lo­sophers, and its social guardians, namely priests and educators. But recently morality has become a hot topic of inquiry among psychologists, cognitive scientists, animal ethologists, biologists and even behavioral economists, but not yet anthropologists and sociologists. I shall view »morality« naturalistically: That is, as a human phenomenon that results from biological and cultural processes and is subject to investigation by natural and social scientists. The evolution of genes and trans­mission of cultures has resulted in core moral universals and diverse concrete moral practices. I want here to address a distinctively sociological question: How much moral diversity is there? I shall first show why this is an important question that is worth asking. I shall try to clarify the question and consider difficulties that beset attempts to answer it.

Steven Lukes ist Professor für Soziologie an der New York University. Zuvor unterrichtete er an den Universitäten Oxford, Florenz und Siena und hatte zahlreiche Gastprofessuren inne. Er ist Fellow der British Academy sowie zurzeit Fellow am Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, wo er an einem Projekt zur »Soziologie der Sitten« arbeitet. Zu seinen wichtigsten Veröffentlichungen zählen: Marxism and Morality. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1985; Power. A Radical View. Houndmills u. a.: Palgrave Macmillan 2006 [1974]; Moral Relativism. London: Profile Books 2008; sowie: Die Beste aller Welten. Professor Caritats Reise durch die Utopien. Hamburg: Rotbuch Verlag 1999 [1995].

Veranstaltungsort:
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
Campus Bockenheim, Mertonstraße 17–21, Hörsaal 6
60365 Frankfurt am Main

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