Amoralism

In Morality: An Introduction to Ethics (1972), Bernard Williams wrote that "whereas most moral philosophy at most times has been empty and boring . . . contemporary moral philosophy has found an original way of being boring, which is by not discussing issues at all". The study of morality, he argued, should be vital and compelling. He wanted to find a moral philosophy that was accountable to psychology and to history, to politics and to culture. In his rejection of morality as "a peculiar institution," Williams resembled the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Nietzsche was famous not only as one of the fathers of existentialism but also the advocate of perspectivism, which held that perception and individual interpretation could be more important than facts. Williams, at bottom also felt that ethical theories depend on attitudes and the soundest ethical stance would be to have none. Although Williams' disdain for reductionism sometimes made him appear a moral relativist, he was far from that. He believed, like the Ancient Greeks, that the so-called "thick" moral concepts, like courage and cruelty, were real. Williams was particularly critical of utilitarianism, a consequentialist theory, the simplest version of which argues that moral acts are good only insofar as they promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number, regardless of any issues of personhood or moral agency.

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Category: Philosophy - A