Pragmatist Ethics: A Problem-Based Approach to What Matters (SUNY series in American Philosophy and Cultural Thought)

By: James Jakób Liszka

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Synopsis: Grounded in American pragmatism, Pragmatist Ethics proposes a rethinking of ethics. Rather than looking to the good—a concept for which consensus is difficult to achieve—pragmatists instead advocate for tending to the problems of the day. James Jakób Liszka examines how daily practices and institutions are originally conceived and then evolve to solve certain problems, and that their failure to do so is the source of most problems. Liszka argues that the ethical goal, therefore, is to improve upon these practices and that the sort of practical reasoning that characterizes practices can be enhanced by a more scientific, empirical approach. But how do we know when changes to practices and institutions are progressive? Problems will plague the best of communities; the better community is the one that succeeds best at solving its problems. Pragmatist Ethics examines various accounts of improvement and progress, concluding that the problem-solving effectiveness of communities is the key to progressive changes.