Moral Particularism

Book excerpt: Moral Particularism is a timely and penetrating investigation of a theoretical approach that seeks to transform moral philosophy. In the face of continuing disagreement about which general moral principles are correct, there has been a resurgence of interest in the view that correct moral judgements can be only about particular cases. This view, moral particularism, presages a revolution in ordinary moral practice, which has hitherto consisted largely of appeals to general moral principles. Moral particularism also opposes the main aim of most contemporary normative moral theory, which consists in attempts to show that either one general principle or a set of general principles is superior to all its rivals.