moral naturalism
"[Moral naturalists'] implied description of the moral life is gentle, fair and grounded. But it is all lower case. So far, at least, it might not satisfy those who want their morality to be awesome, formidable, transcendent or great."
--D. Brooks, The Moral Naturalists, NYT 7/22
Moral naturalism is the idea that social norms fall on ground well prepared by an evolved moral sense. Other options for the genealogy of morals are revelation and metaphysics. If moral naturalism is truest - or completely true, as I believe - there is no good reason to uphold a moral awesomeness simply because the people want it. Abraham's was an exceptional case but, according to Kierkegaard, not moral or ethical. Faith can bypass these universal precepts and, crucially, is a private matter between a person and her god.
--D. Brooks, The Moral Naturalists, NYT 7/22
Moral naturalism is the idea that social norms fall on ground well prepared by an evolved moral sense. Other options for the genealogy of morals are revelation and metaphysics. If moral naturalism is truest - or completely true, as I believe - there is no good reason to uphold a moral awesomeness simply because the people want it. Abraham's was an exceptional case but, according to Kierkegaard, not moral or ethical. Faith can bypass these universal precepts and, crucially, is a private matter between a person and her god.