Is Ethical Independence Enough?

Ronald Dworkin’s argument for a general right of ethical independence, in contrast to a special right of religious freedom, represents an important liberal view of the significance of religion within political morality. This chapter seeks to understand and defend Dworkin’s ideal of ethical independence, particularly against those who claim that it provides individuals with insufficient protection to pursue their religious commitments. It does so by integrating ethical independence with other features of Dworkin’s conception of political morality, such as his critique of majoritarianism and his account of equality. In addition, it develops a response to the most prominent version of the insufficiency objection, namely, that the political community ought to give special protection to individuals who seek to honour the dictates of their conscience, or their perceived ethical duties.

Argument (complex analysis) · Conscience · Environmental ethics · Honour · Ideal (ethics) · Independence (probability theory) · Law and economics · Liberalism · Morality · Political science · Politics · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Religion and Society Interactions