Moral Discourse

Following a usage described by Foucault, a discourse is more than just language-in-use; it refers to a system of thought that simultaneously takes up ideas, ideologies, attitudes, actions, and concepts informing our understandings of self, world, and others. The notion of a moral discourse specifically directs attention to ways of thinking and acting about morality. Morality, broadly speaking, is concerned with systems of public thought (about moral rules, ideals, virtues, etc.) that informally govern our behavior as it affects others. Defining morality as an informal system contrasts it with systems of law and religion. In the former, unlike the latter, there is neither a decision procedure nor a source of authority that can, once and for all, settle contested questions. Morality is thus, in a ...