Off the top of my head, I'd worry that this follows from the more general proposition that academics typically don't have much influence, and so isn't an indictment of ethical theory in particular.
It may well be a good idea to learn from the history of moral progress, but I guess I remain hopeful that moral theory will prove helpful in f…
Off the top of my head, I'd worry that this follows from the more general proposition that academics typically don't have much influence, and so isn't an indictment of ethical theory in particular.
It may well be a good idea to learn from the history of moral progress, but I guess I remain hopeful that moral theory will prove helpful in future even if it turns out it hasn't achieved much in the past. (E.g., I think it'll be important for helping us to identify what changes are "progress", which are neutral, and which are outright bad. We need to have a goal in mind before setting about trying to achieve it.) I also think that utilitarian reformers like J.S. Mill and Peter Singer have had a pretty significant impact!
Off the top of my head, I'd worry that this follows from the more general proposition that academics typically don't have much influence, and so isn't an indictment of ethical theory in particular.
It may well be a good idea to learn from the history of moral progress, but I guess I remain hopeful that moral theory will prove helpful in future even if it turns out it hasn't achieved much in the past. (E.g., I think it'll be important for helping us to identify what changes are "progress", which are neutral, and which are outright bad. We need to have a goal in mind before setting about trying to achieve it.) I also think that utilitarian reformers like J.S. Mill and Peter Singer have had a pretty significant impact!