What is it about?
Both system theorist Niklas Luhmann and philosopher Paul Ricoeur include the study of ethics and morality as part of their theorizing on the constitution of meaning. For Ricoeur, moral invention is a manner of “referring morality back to ethics” in order to reawake our capacity to produce a meaningful life (1992, Oneself as Another, p.. 240, 274). Luhmann's theorizing provides valuable insights to help explaining how meaning-constituting systems could demonstrate a capacity for moral invention.
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Why is it important?
Moral invention does not mean that “anything goes”. When there is a conflict between the ethical aim and the moral norms, the next step is not to look for a compromise or a higher synthesis to reconcile the two conflictual elements. What is required is a reawakening of our capacity to produce a meaningful life.
Perspectives
Ultimately, the unresolved conflict between the ethical aim and the moral norms is about who we are. Our capacity for Moral invention allows us to continuously reinvent who we are.
Diane Laflamme
Université du Québec à Montréal (École de travail social)
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This page is a summary of: Moral invention in meaning‐constituting systems, Kybernetes, August 2006, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/03684920610675184.
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