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Document Details : Title: Concerns about the Global Ethic Subtitle: A Sympathetic Critique and Suggestions for a New Direction Author(s): HEDGES, Paul Journal: Studies in Interreligious Dialogue Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Date: 2008 Pages: 153-168 DOI: 10.2143/SID.18.2.2033319 Abstract : Taking a sympathetic yet critical attitude to the Global Ethic project, it is suggested that it needs to be rethought. Various problematic issues are highlighted in an initial discussion, notably the tension between generality and specifics and the Western nature of the project. Five areas of concerned are then discussed in more detail: 1) the self-selecting participation of those pre-committed to dialogue; 2) the problem of claiming that there are common points of ethical agreement between traditions; 3) the inherent Western liberal agenda; 4) the apparent assumption of monolithic faiths; and, 5) the difficulty of hearing the voices of oppressed and excluded groups. Rather than rejecting the positive aspects of the project, it is suggested that a number of localized ethical systems, which may develop into a Global Ethic, should be envisaged. |
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