The Moral First, The Technical Second
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12449898 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David John Farmer (Virginia Commonwealth University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 581-594 |
| Publication date | 2005-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Administrative Theory & Praxis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1084-1806 • E-ISSN: 1949-0461 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10841806.2005.11029495 |
| OpenAlex | W2278317082 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Should moral considerations be primary in each individual bureau crat's action? Should we aim for that kind of revolution in regulative ideals? In view of what some pundits describe as an increased interest in values in American politics, it seems a timely question. More pre cisely, what can we learn from asking whether, as a regulative ideal, each and every bureaucratic action should be primarily moral, with a technical sub-text?or whether it should be primarily technical, with a moral sub-text? I want to see what I can learn by outlining three pro and three con arguments for the uncomfortable belief that, as a regulative ideal, the moral should be privileged in each and all bureaucratic actions. I will do so defining morality no more finely than seeking what ought to be the case or seeking what should be the case. I'm writing of moralizing as a creative activity of the self in the face of the other, as contrasted with moralizing as a mere picking from among a menu of do's and don'ts out there. The moral first, the technical second! I expect to find comfort for the view that privileging the moral can transform the quality of living, and that theorists should create space appropriate for this transformation. Turning around a thought expressed by a lover of Dante's Comedy (Rubin, 2004, p. 5), I embrace the revolutionary desire that bureaucrats should aim to be, not merely craftsmen or craftswomen, but moral vi
Action (physics · Aesthetics · Bureaucracy · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · Ideal (ethics · Moral authority · Moral disengagement · Moral psychology · Morality · Political science · Politics · Quality (philosophy · Social cognitive theory of morality · Social science · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |