Between philosophical heights and practical necessities. Some remarks on the idea of applied ethics

Jacek Sójka

doi:10.18778/1899-2226.20.5.01

Authors

Jacek Sójka Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Faculty of Social Sciences

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1899-2226.20.5.01

Keywords:

applied ethics, ethical reasoning, morality, public dialogue, pragmatism

Abstract

For many people the expression “applied ethics” sounds like a pleonasm. They tend to claim that ethics by its very nature is about practical matters. It deals with human actions and their motivations and there is no need to create an additional discipline with special practical bias. However, at least since the 1970s, there has been a growing movement of applied ethics which resulted not only in the increase of enrolment to the academic courses but also in the demand for consulting services in this field. And yet the question still remains to what extent applied ethics inherits philosophical tradition and style of thinking. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the applied ethics is a continuation of philosophical inquiry in the way adjusted well to the demands of the pluralistic and democratic societies.

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