Moral Damages

Despite the wide-ranging differences in people’s moral perspectives, there is near universal agreement that the world is generally better off when people allow morality to dictate their actions. But what if this view is wrong? What if the very thing that most people think is key to improving human relations is actually a primary contributor to unnecessary suffering and strife? In this book, Stephen G. Morris uses the latest empirical evidence to argue that eliminating all vestiges of morality from our lives (a position known as moral abolitionism) would likely yield benefits on both an individual and a societal level. Though the primary aim is to build a pragmatic case for why we ought to dispense with morality, Morris first argues that there are theoretical reasons for rejecting morality since we lack compelling arguments for the existence of moral facts. From there, he cites extensive evidence suggesting that morality does more harm than good through its negative influence on violence, politics, and personal relationships. Following a discussion of how we have at our disposal the necessary resources (i.e., empathy, prudential self-interest, and reason) to benefit humanity in a world without morality, Morris concludes by offering some specific steps societies could take to help eliminate morality’s corrupting influence and to improve human relations. Stephen G. Morris is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The College of Staten Island/CUNY, USA