ONLINE FIRST
published on July 9, 2022
David A. Borman
https://doi.org/10.5840/radphilrev202275123
Regressive De-Moralization
A Contractualist Account
As Allen Buchanan and Russell Powell have observed, de-moralization¡ªthe retreat of normative regulation from specific areas of human life¡ªrepresents an under-theorized component of the study of moral change. However, Buchanan and Powell, like Philip Kitcher, focus exclusively on instances of de-moralization that they regard as morally progressive. Indeed, the existing literature on moral change is almost silent on the matter of moral regression, and doubly so on the matter of regressive de-moralization. This paper attempts to define and defend a particular, contractualist account of regressive de-moralization as both historically well-documented and a matter of contemporary concern.