Cultures differ thickly while sharing a thin universal morality of prohibitions

Evidence

James Q. Wilson, The Moral Sense (New York: Free Press, 1993); Michael Walzer, Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994), esp. chaps. 1 and 4; and for a brief overview, Frances V. Harbour, “Basic Moral Values: A Shared Core,” Ethics and International Affairs, 9 (1995), 155–170. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 955 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The public, however, is notoriously diverse. Modern citizens don’t subscribe to a unitary moral system—moral heterogeneity is said to be one of modern society’s defining characteristics (even if the modern state does promote a particular ethical outlook). The puzzle here is how a deprivatized religion can appeal effectively to the consciences of those who don’t accept its values. And the possibility of negotiation depends on the prior agreement of the parties concerned that the values in question are in fact negotiable. In a modern society such agreement does not extend to all values. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 907 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Cultures differ over whether the world is a living whole or a machine — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 615; Belief in Western cultural universality is false, immoral, and dangerous; Moral values may have a shared universal core beneath cultural variation — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 955 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Moral values may have a shared universal core beneath cultural variation #corroborates (0.95) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 955
• Moral heterogeneity in modern society blocks religion’s appeal to a shared conscience #complicates (0.78) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 907