Executive summary: The author outlines seven preliminary philosophical opinions on moral progress to guide thinking, concluding skepticism is unwarranted, progress is complex with many conceptual distinctions, explicit moralizing hasn’t driven most historical progress, but should be accelerated relative to technology for safety.
Key points:
Three forms of skepticism against moral progress exist, but the author argues they are all flawed.
Conceptual distinctions like individual/collective, beliefs/practices, and moral/social progress highlight complexity.
Explicit moral philosophy likely hasn’t impacted historical social progress much until now, but should accelerate faster than technology for safety.
Accelerating some progress domains earlier than others may enable protective technologies first.
Secular ethics should abandon historicism, combat appeals to nature, and recognize moral intuitions shift.
Care is needed with claims of progress to avoid justifying problematic imposition.
Studying moral progress faces practical interdisciplinary challenges.
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Executive summary: The author outlines seven preliminary philosophical opinions on moral progress to guide thinking, concluding skepticism is unwarranted, progress is complex with many conceptual distinctions, explicit moralizing hasn’t driven most historical progress, but should be accelerated relative to technology for safety.
Key points:
Three forms of skepticism against moral progress exist, but the author argues they are all flawed.
Conceptual distinctions like individual/collective, beliefs/practices, and moral/social progress highlight complexity.
Explicit moral philosophy likely hasn’t impacted historical social progress much until now, but should accelerate faster than technology for safety.
Accelerating some progress domains earlier than others may enable protective technologies first.
Secular ethics should abandon historicism, combat appeals to nature, and recognize moral intuitions shift.
Care is needed with claims of progress to avoid justifying problematic imposition.
Studying moral progress faces practical interdisciplinary challenges.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.