Description
Book SynopsisThis book considers the nature and exercise of moral imagination in situations in which our ability to act and choose meaningfully is limited by unarticulated expectations. Moral imagination is a cognitive attitude, in which we regard propositions as true. But it also involves orientation. In moral imagination, we regard propositions as true in order to make something else true, and we act and interpret as if it were true. The demand for explanatory unity in such situations - what I call ''explanatory burden'' - involves self-constitution, with seeing oneself as a certain sort of person and developing relevant expectations. Whereas it is common to define human well-being in terms of choice and capacities, I suggest that meaningful choice and human capacities are sometimes defined in terms of the actual pursuit and achievement of human well-being. I draw upon examples from literature, film, and historical narrative to suggest that while we think autonomy and agency consist, at least in
Trade ReviewArtless Integrity crosses the boundaries of literature and philosophy, hence is an important contribution to many disciplines, from philosophy to social science. This book would be useful to researchers, teachers, practicing professionals within social sciences and humanities. It would be of particular interest to anyone who believes in practical reasoning, living well, and as best we can amidst the contingent and complex messiness of life. * Discourse Studies *
Susan Babbit's Artless Integrity is an original and radical moral epistemology that supports the lives of those in situations of moral risk. There are several valuable foci in Babbit's work that one simply doesn't find elsewhere in contemporary North American ethics. The book would make an exciting and challenging text in a graduate course in ethics, political theory, or IDS. Her analysis makes accessible and necessary to North American audiences the work of important Southern political theorists. * Philosophy in Review *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Moral Risk and Dark Waters Chapter 2 Self-Respect: What Institutions Have to do with Expectations Chapter 3 Integrity, Stability, and the Self Chapter 4 Friendship and Solidarity Chapter 5 Artless Integrity and the Power of the Story Chapter 6 "We must continue dreaming": Cuba, Democracy and the Armed Owl
