Philosophical Perspectives on Moral Certainty (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)

Moral certainty refers to those aspects of morality – moral acting, feeling, and thinking – that are beyond doubt, explanation, and justification. The essays in this book explore the concept of moral certainty and its application and usefulness in contemporary moral debates.

The notion of moral certainty, which is inspired by the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, is emerging as a key reference point in contemporary moral philosophy. An investigation into the implications of moral certainty is called for, given that so many discussions in moral philosophy concern the possibility of justifying our moral beliefs. The concept of moral certainty also feeds directly into the emerging field of hinge epistemology. The chapters in this volume tackle the following issues: meta-questions around whether and how we can make sense of the concept of moral certainty; the role of moral certainty in contemporary debates on gender, racism, bias, and historically unjust practices; ways in which radical change in society engendered by new technologies might affect moral certainties; and the role of the notion of moral certainty in the debates on free will and moral responsibility.

Philosophical Perspectives on Moral Certainty will appeal to researchers and advanced students working on ethics and moral philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of technology, and Wittgenstein.

Cecilie Eriksen is a Special Consultant at the National Center of Ethics, The Ministry of Health, Copenhagen, Denmark. She is also an affiliated researcher on the research programme The Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies and the author of Moral Change: Dynamics, Structure and Normativity (2020).

Julia Hermann is Assistant Professor in the Philosophy and Ethics of Technology and fellow on the NWO-funded research programme The Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies, University of Twente, the Netherlands. She is the author of On Moral Certainty, Justification and Practice: A Wittgensteinian Perspective (2015).

Neil O’Hara is a Visiting Lecturer at London School of Theology, and an Independent Scholar, UK. He is the author of Moral Certainty and the Foundations of Morality (2018).

Nigel Pleasants is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Critical Social Theory (Routledge, 1999) and recent articles on moral certainty, moral revolution, slavery and abolition, the Holocaust, and issues in philosophy of social science.