Moral attention: A comparative philosophical study

Gendron, Claude

doi:10.1080/03057240.2016.1208079

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…The image, commonly referred to as "The Falling Man", was (re-)printed in numerous newspapers before it was banned based on ethical concerns (which did not, however, erase it from the digital hivemind), closely connected to those raised by Lisa. What is at stake here is 'moral attention', which can be described as the suspension of one's own goals and concerns and the recognition of and adequate response to the needs of others (see Gendron 2016;also Tronto 1993: 128). As Martha Nussbaum has argued, fiction can assist us in refining our moral attention.…”

Section: Communication Shrapnel and Fragmented Attention In Davidmentioning

confidence: 99%

'Only Connect:’ The Aesthetics of Fragmentation and Mindful Literary Studies.

Baumbach¹

2021

Preprint

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Section: Communication Shrapnel and Fragmented Attention In Davidmentioning

confidence: 99%

'Only Connect:’ The Aesthetics of Fragmentation and Mindful Literary Studies.

Baumbach¹

2021

Preprint

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“…As one of the reviewers of this article observed, the notion of attention is also an important theme in the work of Nel Noddings. For a discussion of the connections between attention and care in Noddings' writings, see Gendron (2016). 2.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Love, attention and teaching: Dostoevsky'sThe Brothers Karamazov

Roberts

2017

Open Review of Educational Research

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Fyodor Dostoevsky's final novel, The Brothers Karamazov, is one of the most influential works of the nineteenth century. To date, however, the potential value of the book for educationists has been largely ignored. This article addresses a key pedagogical theme in The Brothers Karamazov, namely, the notion that 'love is a teacher'. Love as Dostoevsky understands it is active and difficult; it focuses not on the abstract idea of loving humankind but on the messy particulars of everyday life. Active love, it will be argued, has much in common with Iris Murdoch's concept of attention. The first part of the article examines several passages in The Brothers Karamazov that address the theme of active love. The second section analyses these examples from the text in the light of Murdoch's ideas and explores some of their broader educational implications.

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“…For further readings about Murdoch's notion of moral attention seeClarke 2013;Panizza 2015;Forthcoming;Gendron 2016;Raïd 2019.86 Weil's idea of personal, similar to Murdoch's idea of ego, suggests a common way in which humans relate to the world that directs and maintains their attention on trivial matters or self-centered preoccupations and, thus, keeps their attention away from goodness. See the essay "Human Personality" inWeil 1986. …”

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confidence: 99%

Ordinary ethical navigation. An account of moral understanding

Ouellette-Dubé

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This dissertation defends an account of moral understanding as the competence to navigate ethical life. The nature of moral understanding is an object of controversy. Some claim that it can be reduced to a form of moral knowledge. Others claim that moral understanding is a complex moral epistemic good that cannot be reduced to a form of moral knowledge. I argue that this dispute dissolves once we acknowledge that the debate about the nature of moral understanding is one about the kind of epistemic competence a moral agent should develop and exercise. Against the view that moral understanding is an explanatory competence and the view that it is the capacity to gain moral knowledge, I argue that moral understanding is the competence to navigate ethical life. Through this navigation, one forms moral beliefs that speak to one’s agency, such that one successfully figures out what one should do. This competence is characterized by the abilities to be epistemically engaged with humility and to appreciate moral reason. Humble epistemic engagement is primarily guided by an attentional activity—moral attention—deemed the proper mark of the active moral agent by Iris Murdoch. Appreciation follows from normative experience resulting from the emotional experience of the subject. As a result, moral understanding is a necessary, although not sufficient, constituent of moral competence. This account aligns with the intuitions whereby moral understanding is something one should possess oneself—it should not be outsourced—whilst accepting help from peers. It also accommodates the fundamental intuitions that this moral epistemic good implies a systematic grasp of morality and the ability to figure out what one should do. I distinguish, moreover, between two significantly different deficits of moral understanding. Ordinary lack of moral understanding is in cases in which one’s navigation is compromised by one’s lack of epistemic engagement. Failed moral agency is in cases where one does not navigate to live well. Only the former deficit can be remedied. Explaining why ordinary ethical navigation fails, in turn, sheds light on the puzzling reality that people, although active and well-intentioned, are often ill-equipped to find their way in ethical life. Becoming clearer on the nature of moral understanding reveals that moral competence involves as much epistemic as practical engagement. The account also provides a novel set of conceptual tools for thinking about the way ordinary moral experience influences moral understanding.

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Moral attention: A comparative philosophical study

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

'Only Connect:’ The Aesthetics of Fragmentation and Mindful Literary Studies.

'Only Connect:’ The Aesthetics of Fragmentation and Mindful Literary Studies.

Love, attention and teaching: Dostoevsky'sThe Brothers Karamazov

Ordinary ethical navigation. An account of moral understanding

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