Morality and Social Criticism

The Force of Reasons in Discursive Practice

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by Richard Amesbury

Palgrave

Due/Published October 2005, 256 pages, cloth

ISBN 1403938229

This book brings recent developments in Anglo-American philosophy into engagement with dominant currents in contemporary European social theory in order to articulate a pragmatic account of moral criticism. Presented in a lively and accessible style that avoids technical jargon, Morality and Social Criticism argues that the objectivity of moral discourse can be preserved without recourse to the overweening philosophical ambitions of the Enlightenment.

Contents

Introduction
Solidarity and Dissent: Rorty and the 'Consequences of Pragmatism'
The Force of Reasons: Habermas on Norms and Justification
Norms, Interpretation and Decision-Making: Derrida on Justice
Norms and Normativity: Between Regulism and Regularism
'In the Beginning was the Deed': The Ungrounded Grounds of Rational Criticism
Agreeing to Disagree: Towards a More Capacious Conception of Tradition
The Return of Objectivity: Realism without (Rampant) Platonism
Postscript: Doing Justice: Criticism and Philosophy