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Document Details :

Title: A Step Forward in Global Ethical Discourse
Subtitle: An Interreligious Perspective
Author(s): GREEN, Douglas P.
Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue
Volume: 22    Issue: 1   Date: 2012   
Pages: 17-35
DOI: 10.2143/SID.22.1.2174053

Abstract :
It is generally accepted that ethical principles and irrevocable imperatives are common binding standards held by all religions that lay a foundation for a shared ethical criterion, i.e. a global ethic. In this article the author explores a paradigmatic shift by presenting a fresher examination of a global ethic through an interreligious analysis of the Confucian and Christian ethical frameworks. In the course of this discussion he asserts that strongly embedded within Confucianism and Christianity are the ethical elements of the moral exemplar, built on virtue and education, which can conceivably articulate a new approach to a global ethic. The ethical characteristics of virtue and the moral exemplar have been seemingly neglected by the global ethics community, which must realize the immense significance of the moral agent and the cultivation of virtue and character. In the end, the author argues for this conclusion: a broader inclusion of multiple concepts, namely virtue, character and the placement of moral exemplars from Confucianism and Christianity, which may provide guidance in exploring the complex and multidimensional aspects of global ethics.

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