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Moral Dimensions of the Public Discourse:
The Legacy of the Social Summit revisited
25-26 February 2005
Hosted by the Harvard Yenching Institute and its Director Tu Wei Ming, this meeting was attended by twenty-five persons, members and friends of the Circle, including five working at the United Nations in New York. The subject for discussion was Moral Dimensions of the Public Discourse: the Legacy of the Social Summit Revisited.
Three themes were proposed in the agenda: moral philosophy and the spirit of the time; moral issues in the political discourse; and, relevance of the values advocated by the Social Summit. The starting point was the observation that after many decades of neglect, moral philosophy is, as a discipline, making a "comeback." In parallel, ethics is "on the market", with notions such as ethical accounting and ethical investment becoming parts of the corporate language. The curbing of corruption is on the agenda of the United Nations. And, this public interest in moral issues is also accompanied by a revival of religion, or religiosity, in the form of sects and various forms of fundamentalism. References to God are no longer exceptional in the public discourse. And in the background of all this, or, rather, in the forefront of the political scene, are acts of terrorism and manifestations of state violence and contempt for human rights and international law.
Views of the liberal humanist on morals and the public discourse
For the liberal and secular humanist, heir of the European Enlightenment, the explicit intrusion of morals - and a-fortiori of religion -- in the public discourse is an added indication of the serious trouble in which humanity finds itself at this historical juncture. Calls to morality, pretense at virtue and at ownership of the truth are always suspect and dangerous. They are regularly accompanied by a denial of the humanity of the Other.
Moral principles and norms of good behavior, which are indeed universally understood and shared, are taught and transmitted by examples and deeds, starting in the family, continuing with schools and universities and culminating with the concrete policies of governments accountable for their actions. Reason, the responsible exercise of one's freedom and respect for the autonomy of the other - individual, community or nation - go together. The political realm has to be kept under the jurisdiction of Reason.
Religious and spiritual resources are sources of morality
While generally agreeing on the ambiguities and dangers inherent in public pronouncements on morals and morality, and while rejecting theocracy, participants raised questions and offered different perspectives on these issues. Religions have given and still give meaning to life and moral direction to considerable numbers of people. Religious thinking has strongly influenced moral principles embodied in "natural law" as well as in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thus, when one thinks of how to deal with the excesses of fundamentalism, it would be wiser to revisit secularism and its excessive reliance on instrumental rationality, rather than to reject religion and with it an authentic source of morals.
Moreover, the spiritual resources that are available in the world ought to be mobilized in addressing the main issues that confront society today. The Dialogue of Civilizations initiated by the United Nations and pursued by UNESCO is a step in the right direction. And moral issues, rather than being confronted directly, can be approached through the cultural perspective, the aesthetics perspective, and, simply, through the application of the "love thy neighbor" principle. It is time to rely on several facets of the human spirit. And Reason gives better fruits when shaped by Love rather than by Power, Greed, or Fear. The message of the Social Summit, with its mix of idealism and very concrete recommendations for a fair and peaceful world order, is seemingly lost today in the mainstream discourse of the United Nations but it lives through other discourses. In sum, the renewed interest in moral philosophy might help humankind confront the formidable problems looming on the horizon, but the teachings of liberal and secular humanism ought never to be left aside.
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