From punishment to universalism

Many philosophers have claimed that the folk endorse moral universalism. Some have taken the folk view to support moral universalism; others have taken the folk view to reflect a deep confusion. And while some empirical evidence supports the claim that the folk endorse moral universalism, this work has uncovered intra-domain differences in folk judgments of moral universalism. In light of all this, our question is: why do the folk endorse moral universalism? Our hypothesis is that folk judgments of moral universalism are generated in part by a desire to punish. We present evidence supporting this across three studies. On the basis of this, we argue for a debunking explanation of folk judgments of moral universalism. Our results not only further our understanding of the psychological processes underpinning folk judgments of moral universalism. They also bear on philosophical discussions of folk meta-ethics

Marx\u27s Political Universalism

My main aim in this paper is to arrive at a defensible form of Marxian or socialist political universalism through a critical examination of Marx\u27s own political universalism. In the next section, I will outline several moral errors that Walzer ascribes to political universalism, including Marx\u27s, and show that Walzer largely misdirects his criticisms because what primarily accounts for Marx committing the errors is his Hegelian metaphysical conception of history, not his political universalism as such

Book Review: Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism

A review of Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism by Rajiv Malhotra

Universalism and Utilitarianism: An Evaluation of Two Popular Moral Theories in Business Decision Making

Moral theories remain a topic of interest, not just to moral philosophers, but increasingly in business circles as well, thanks to a tainted reputation that urges more awareness in this regard. Based on the expressed preferences of 163 undergraduate and graduate students of business ethics, this article briefly examines the two most popular theories, Universalism (Kantian) and Utilitarianism (consequentialist), and presents a SWOT analysis of both. Some of the strengths and weaknesses that will be discussed for Universalism are consistency, intension basis, and universalizability, while some of the discussed strengths and weaknesses for Utilitarianism are flexibility, outcome-basis, and lack of consistency. Subsequently, some common factors and discrepancies between the two theories will be discussed. In the conclusive section, some suggestions and recommendations are presented

Social security, redistribution and public opinion

This CASEbrief summarises 'Social security, selective universalism and patchwork redistribution' by John Hills and Orsolya Lelkes in British Social Attitudes, the 16th Report: Who shares New Labour values? edited by R. Jowell, J. Curtice, A. Park and K. Thomson, and published by Ashgate Publishing Co

“Unitarianism, Universalism, and Unitarian Universalism”

Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious tradition with denominational roots in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and theological roots stretching back to the Radical Reformation and the patristic period. Originally two traditions of liberal Christianity, its current non-creedal form includes Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, pagan, mystical, process, and humanist spiritualities

Behavioural conditionality: Why the nudges must be stopped - an opinion piece

The use of behavioural conditionality has spread globally and is linked to the growth of behavioural economics and libertarian paternalism. This comment questions the ethics and effectiveness of this powerful trend and considers the alternative of moving towards universalism and unconditionality

Christian AND Universalist?: Charting Liberal Quaker Theological Developments Through the Swarthmore Lectures

In this article, I elucidate two main strands of thought in the Swarthmore Lectures concerning the relationship between Liberal Quakerism, Christianity, and Universalism. Within these two poles are nuanced differences, however, with relation to where Liberal Quakerism falls along a spectrum between explicitly Christian and Universalist

‘Jesus is victor’: Passing the impasse of Barth on universalism

This is the PDF version of an article published in Scottish journal of theology© 2007. The definitive version is available at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=SJT. The publisher version is included by kind permission of Cambridge University Press.This article examines the question of Karl Barth's stance on universalism