On the Possibility of Deep Moral Change

Henry Krahn (Justitia Center for Advanced Studies)

 

Abstract

There has recently been a renewal of philosophical interest in moral change. While few philosophers today take the triumphalist view often associated with the Enlightenment, there is lively debate over the nature, causes, and significance of moral progress, as well as of its opposite, moral regress. This debate raises troubling questions about the relationship between history and morality. For example, what does the »moral« part of moral progress imply? Does it imply the realization of transhistorical moral truths, or simply the resolution of historically specific social problems? In this talk, I discuss theories of moral progress that offer both kinds of answer, and I argue that each struggles to balance fidelity to history with fidelity to morality. I then suggest that we might strike a better balance by adopting a view according to which morality is something real and objective, but open, in principle, to fundamental change over time. This is a view that recognizes the possibility of what I call deep moral change. I argue that, while the idea seems highly counterintuitive, it can be given considerable argumentative support. Finally, I discuss ways in which it might be further developed, as well as new philosophical problems it raises.

Redner

Henry Krahn ist Philosoph und beschäftigt sich mit Fragen an der Schnittstelle von Moralphilosophie- und politischer Philosophie. 2025/26 ist er auf Einladung des von der Alfons und Gertrud Kassel Stiftung geförderten Justitia Centre for Advanced Studies Postdoctoral Fellow am Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften. Zuvor war er Hauser Post-Doctoral Global Fellow an der New York University School of Law und am Center for Law and Philosophy der School of Law. Im Mai 2024 promovierte er an der Universität Toronto im Fachbereich Philosophie. Der Titel seiner Dissertation lautet »Protest as Holding Others Accountable«.