Dans le cadre des midis de l’éthique, le CRÉUM accueille Yael Peled.

La présentation se fera en anglais, mais la discussion qui s’ensuivra pourra se faire dans les deux langues.

Titre : Political Theorising in a Nonlinear World

Résumé :

Moral reasoning in political theory frequently operates on a linear conception of rationality and agency. The underlying principle of “narrative causality” implied by this conception, however, is increasingly challenged by recent work on complex systems in the natural and social sciences. In the real world, this emerging body of research argues, social and political dynamics are highly adaptive and unpredictable. Such state of affairs challenges core concepts in politics and political theory, such as rationality, reasonableness, and agency. On such a distinctly different epistemic approach, which rejects a mechanistic and linear conception of the rules that govern the behavior of individuals and societies, what forms of normative theorizing and moral reasoning are capable of moving beyond the tendency for narrative causality? The paper discusses the challenge posed by a nonlinear, unpredictable world to a political theorizing, especially in the context of applied ethics that seek to inform public policy. It argues for the need for theory-building efforts for a nonlinear moral epistemology, which distinguishes between structures and ends in considering moral universals.