Real American Ethics Taking Responsibility for Our Country
by Albert Borgmann
University of Chicago Press, 2006
Cloth: 978-0-226-06634-9 | Electronic: 978-0-226-06635-6
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.001.0001
ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

America is a wonderful and magnificent country that affords its citizens the broadest freedoms and the greatest prosperity in the world. But it also has its share of warts. It is embroiled in a war that many of its citizens consider unjust and even illegal. It continues to ravage the natural environment and ignore poverty both at home and abroad, and its culture is increasingly driven by materialism and consumerism. But America, for better or for worse, is still a nation that we have built. So why then, asks Albert Borgmann in this most timely and urgent work, are we failing to take responsibility for it? 

In Real American Ethics, Borgmann asks us to reevaluate our role in the making of American values. Taking his cue from Winston Churchill—who once observed that we shape our buildings, and then our buildings shape us—Borgmann considers the power of our most enduring institutions and the condition of our present moral makeup to propose inspired new ways in which we, as ordinary citizens, can act to improve our country. This, he shows, includes everything from where we choose to live and what we spend our money on to daunting tasks like the reshaping of our cities—habits and actions that can guide us to more accomplished and virtuous lives. Using prose that is easy and direct throughout, Borgmann’s position is grounded neither by conservative nor liberal ideology, but in his understanding that he is a devoted citizen among many. 

In an age in which the blame game is the only game in town, this patriotic book is an eloquent reminder of the political strength we all wield when we work together.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Albert Borgmann is Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of Montana. He is the author of Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life, Crossing the Postmodern Divide, and Holding On to Reality: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium, all published by the University of Chicago Press.

REVIEWS

Real American Ethics is original and truly impressive. In many ways it is a summation of Albert Borgmann’s lifetime project, with the emphasis on a philosophy and ethics that is neither liberal nor conservative but instead invested in a concrete reality and human satisfaction. His understanding that consumerism is the great enemy of reality in our time is profound, nonideological, and deeply helpful to any readers concerned not only about their country, but about their own lives.”--Bill McKibben
— Bill McKibben

“The key word in the title of Albert Borgmann’s new book is ‘real.’ He shows us how an increasing tendency for Americans to live in a virtual world undermines our very understanding of ethical responsibility. In a dangerous world and an often unhappy society we need to face reality (or ‘get real’ as current jargon would put it) if we are to do the right thing. Reading this book can be a major step in the right direction.”

— Robert Bellah

"This delightful reflection on American ethics has a double appeal. On the one hand is Borgmann's clear articulation of the predominant Kantian theoretical base and the desire for a workable practical ethics. On the other is his incisive criticism of the way ethical theory and practical ethics misses the heart of the American enterprise. . . . Highly recommened."
— Choice

"Solid and insightful. . . . Real American Ethics supports, enriches, and deepens important directions being taken in contemporary American ethics."
— Leonard J. Weber, Technology and Culture

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction: The Place of Ethics

- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0001
[moral standards, excellence, American culture, generosity, resourcefulness, ethics]
This chapter discusses the scope and coherence of American ethics, obstacles in the path of excellence, and the reality of moral standards. It presents reasons why there is a need for American ethics. First, for an ethics to be relevant to people, it has to address their particular circumstances. Second, though the United States is a young country compared with China and Japan, or France and England, it is culturally the oldest sibling of the global family. As American culture spreads around the globe there are two virtues that can be considered as characteristically American—generosity and resourcefulness. (pages 3 - 12)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0002
[social justice, environmentalism, abortion, moral causes, good life, moral visions]
This chapter focuses on three causes that lack power and provoke passion: social justice, the environment, and abortion. The supporters of these causes have never commanded the effective power of government. They find themselves in the roles of petitioners who now and then score victories, and at other times try to defend what territory they have been granted. But in addition to relative powerlessness and passion these movements have something else in common. None of them is animated by a vision of the good life. Their moral visions are narrow, and their language is always in danger of getting shrill, though all of them have moderate advocates with honorable motives. (pages 13 - 24)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0003
[theoretical ethics, practice ethics, real ethics, contemporary ethics, moral, ethical conduct, material culture]
This chapter discusses theoretical ethics, practice ethics, and real ethics. It argues that theoretical ethics gives us the landmarks or the framework of contemporary ethics but, left to itself, gives us an impoverished view of the moral life. Practical ethics attends to the texture and the richness of ethical conduct but, if it goes no further, remains inconsequential and inconclusive as regards the quality of our lives. Real ethics investigates the moral structure of the material culture and thus reveals the levies, dams, and channels that constrain the course of life, and it discloses the things of art and nature that inspire and engage us. (pages 25 - 30)
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Part I: Theoretical Ethics

- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0004
[equality, dignity, liberty, epochalism, epochal norms, absolutism, relativism]
This chapter argues that the underlying norms of equality, dignity, and liberty are binding on everyone today. They are gradually spreading around the globe and sometimes clash with traditional forms of privilege, subservience, and bondage. But they must and will prevail. Thus, beyond absolutism and relativism lies what we may call epochalism—the realization that every epoch in history has its uniquely characteristic and valid norms. The norms of equality, dignity, and liberty are clearest and most authoritative when they are violated. It is this moral fact that reveals the rise and force of epochal moral norms. (pages 33 - 42)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0005
[Immanuel Kant, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Enlightenment, God, moral fiber]
This chapter discusses the views of Immanuel Kant and Thomas Jefferson. Both were men of the Enlightenment and were profoundly attuned to the rational and egalitarian spirit of their time. Reason was for both of them the source of light. Both men put their trust in the moral fiber of common folk. Kant and Jefferson had similar views of religion. They believed in God, but not in revelation or miracles. They admired Jesus for his moral teachings. For both Kant and Jefferson, Isaac Newton (1642–1727) was a cultural monument. (pages 43 - 52)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0006
[utilitarianism, social philosophy, utilitarian principle, commodification, happiness]
This chapter begins with a discussion of the notion of utilitarianism and how it turned into an affirmative, tolerant, and seemingly democratic social philosophy that appeared to take the pursuit of happiness seriously. It then considers the dark and dubious side of the utilitarian principle. This is followed by discussions of monetary utilitarianism, commodification, measuring happiness, and the shape of happiness. (pages 53 - 68)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0007
[good life, evolution, prosperity, truth, goodness, beauty]
This chapter argues that the meanings and background conditions that we should take from evolutionary psychology and bear in mind when we are trying to determine the good life are the following: first, we should realize that the process of evolution has unfolded a world of grandeur and beauty that harbors but is not overcome by violence; second, we have to remember that humans have evolved in this process under certain conditions (the ancestral environment) in which they came to prosper materially and morally; and third, it must be understood that evolution has given us the talents to discover norms of truth, goodness, and beauty. (pages 69 - 78)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0008
[political ethics, freedom, openness, generosity, real ethics, Kantian ethics, dignity, justice]
This chapter discusses the philosophy of John Rawls. Rawls's political ethics is truly American because it captures what is best in the soul of our body politic: the commitment to freedom, to openness, to generosity. Rawls's work also took an important step in the direction of real ethics. Rawls spelled out what may be called the social version of Churchill's principle: We shape our social institutions; afterward our social institutions shape us. Rawls saw his enterprise as a renewal and development of Kantian ethics. Not surprisingly then, Rawls's first concern was to honor and protect the dignity of every individual. This concern for the individual's dignity was spelled out in terms of the other two Kantian landmarks—equality and liberty—as the first principle of justice. (pages 79 - 84)
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Part II: Practical Ethics

- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0009
[practical ethics, moral excellence, good life, equality, will]
This chapter discusses the application of theory to practice. It argues that while it is true that the solutions of practical ethics enhance the prospects of a good life, the reverse is true too. Knowing and living a life of moral excellence casts light on how life should begin, should it be shared, and should end. It considers the view that moral excellence is governed by the will and pertains to those things that are subject to your will—honesty, generosity, courage, diligence. Not so with the nonmoral qualities such as intelligence, good looks, musical talent, or athletic ability. It's not your fault if you are tone-deaf or a stumblebum. Thus, moral excellence is compatible with equality. You too could be morally excellent if only you wanted to. (pages 87 - 98)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0010
[wisdom, courage, friendship, economy, grace, good life, householding]
This chapter analyzes personal virtues of wisdom, courage, friendship, economy, and grace. It suggests that wisdom has fallen on hard times because the order of reality and the life of the spirit have dissolved, while courage has declined because the hardness of reality and the life of daring have softened. Like wisdom, courage needs a certain context and specific challenges to prosper. Marriage is viewed as the exemplar of friendship, and that just as wisdom suffered from the disappearance of the cosmic order and courage from the lightness of being, so marriage has suffered from affluence. Economy is discussed as the art and virtue of householding. The good life also needs to be full of grace, whether secular or religious. (pages 99 - 124)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0011
[justice, stewardship, moral responsibility, design, practice, environment]
This chapter analyzes political virtues of justice, stewardship, design, and practice. It argues that while the political virtues of justice and stewardship have lost their vigor, the virtue of taking moral responsibility for the built environment, the virtue called design, is still struggling to be born. A practice is a regular way of doing things. Design and economy play large roles in discouraging or favoring practices. But even in the most favorably shaped circumstances, it takes some resolve and dedication to establish a practice. (pages 125 - 138)
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Part III: Real Ethics

- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0012
[American culture, liberty, personal liberation, commodification, social justice, ethics]
This chapter argues that real liberty is the freedom from the burdens of reality, from hunger, cold, disease, and confinement. Personal liberty is freedom from the demands and annoyances of persons. Real and personal liberation began in earnest with the Industrial Revolution and has since become a broad and diverse phenomenon, so much so that we may despair of getting a grip on it and taking responsibility for it. Yet if there is anything to the sense that contemporary American culture is not conducive to a life of excellence and a good society, we need to find some way of identifying the central driving force of our time. Commodification goes a long way toward disclosing that force and its liabilities. It refers us to a crucial structure of contemporary society, namely, to the market, and it conveys a sense of moral censure. Commodification and social justice, moral commodification, moral vs. economic commodification, commodification and ethics, and the dubious pleasures of commodification are discussed. (pages 141 - 160)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0013
[Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, friendship, wisdom, grace, courage, fortitude]
This chapter analyzes the economy of Thomas Jefferson and Frank Lloyd Wright and the way it supported the virtues of their families, the virtues of friendship, wisdom, and grace. It argues that friendship is most within reach, wisdom less so, and grace is still more remote from our present habits. What grace needs most, though friendship and wisdom require it too, is the virtue of courage, not courage as reckless abandon or the fearless facing of dangers, rather more in the sense of steadfast persistence against comfort and convenience—the virtue that may better be called fortitude. (pages 161 - 174)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0014
[American society, political virtue, design, public space, Churchill, northern Rockies, New York City, Ground Zero, economy]
This chapter asks if we as a society take an active role in shaping public space. And if we do, does the shape of public space give moral direction to our conduct? In short, while there is a need for the personal virtue of economy, is there a place for the political virtue of design? The chapter first looks at the historical setting of Churchill's principle, then at the imprint of the principle on the boonies of the northern Rockies, and finally at the impact the principle has recently had on the most metropolitan of cities, New York City, and on the focal point of Ground Zero. (pages 175 - 188)
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- Albert Borgmann
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226066356.003.0015
[good life, good society, American society, grace, wisdom, justice, stewardship]
This chapter argues that in order to discover the common and compelling vision of the good life and the good society that has beckoned and eluded us, we need to realize what ethics demands of us, in both senses of realizing—we have yet to recognize the need for it, and unsurprisingly, we still have to give it a commanding and tangible shape. Like Jefferson, we should center our lives in our homes, among family, friends, and neighbors. Once we have gathered at the dinner table, wisdom and friendship can be ours, and they in turn can give us the courage to join with our neighbors in the design of a public realm that encourages celebration. Perhaps we can draw from common celebrations the generosity and resourcefulness to meet our obligations of justice and stewardship. Thus, the United States may become the country of grace that the people who came here have searched for and worked for. (pages 189 - 202)
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Notes

Index