The emotional basis of moralityIs autonomy still possible?
ISSN: 0120-5323
Ano de publicación: 2009
Título do exemplar: Voces filosóficas femeninas
Volume: 26
Número: 53
Páxinas: 195-217
Tipo: Artigo
Outras publicacións en: Universitas Philosophica
Resumo
The present paper is focused on how the acceptance of the emotional basis of morality can change the way we approach moral problems, concretely the case of moral autonomy. Is it posible to include the role of emotions in moral agency without losing moral autonomy? Simultaneously, it seems hard provide an account on moral agency without accepting as a premise the existence of moral autonomy. Thus, all this lead us to a picture where the assumtion of a premise (“emotions are a precondition to moral agency”) implies the denial of another one (“autonomy is a precondition to moral agency”), and viceversa. With regard to this paradox, the question is therefore how these two facts —that we are necessarily emotional and autonomous— can become compatible. In this sense, I will argue that emotions are not an obstacle but a necessary element to moral autonomy.