Social Theorists of Morality

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Owen Abbott’s Social Theorists of Morality is an excellent and much-needed work. His insightful account of morality goes beyond the standard theory canon and exploits synergies among sociological, psychological, and philosophical approaches. This is a must-read book for sociologists of morality, but also for sociological theorists, sociologists of culture, and social psychologists.

—Gabriel Abend, Professor of Sociology, University of Lucerne

This is a superb book. Focusing on a range of key thinkers, including neglected and marginalised voices, Abbott sets out key themes in the social theory of morality to establish what a properly ‘social’ account of morality requires. The clarity, breadth and depth of the analysis is remarkable.

—Prof. Wendy Bottero, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester

This book provides an interdisciplinary series of essays on key social theorists of morality. It explores contributions to social moral theorising made by W. E. B. Du Bois, G. H. Mead, Jane Addams, Alasdair MacIntyre, Carol Gilligan, Seyla Benhabib, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Jonathan Haidt. It thus seeks to integrate alternative voices at the “foundations” of sociological theorising about morality, while entering into dialogues with post-Enlightenment moral philosophy and contemporary moral psychology. In so doing, it engages with perspectives of pragmatism, virtue ethics, care ethics, feminist critiques, and moral foundations theory. The essays discuss key topics in social theories of morality, including moral action, socialisation, habit and reflexiveness, relationships, emotion, self, identity, racism and colonialism, universalism, and innateness. It centres crucial (but often overlooked) questions of moral power, and assesses the relationship between moral theorising and normative argument. The essays are conjoined by a running theme of moral agency—how it is constituted and how it is enacted—which orientates the book’s arguments and critiques.

Owen Abbott is Lecturer in Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK. He authored The Self, Relational Sociology, and Morality in Practice, which was awarded the British Sociological Association's Philip Abrams Prize 2020 for best first, sole-authored book. His original restorative work on Du Bois’s studies of morality has been esteemed by the American Sociological Association’s Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity section. Abbott also co-authored Masking in the Pandemic: Materiality, Interaction, and Moral Practice. He has recently completed a Leverhulme Trust-funded empirical project exploring forgiving and not forgiving in personal relationships, continuing his interest in the moral dynamics of personal lives.

This book provides an interdisciplinary series of essays on key social theorists of morality. It explores contributions to social moral theorising made by W. E. B. Du Bois, G. H. Mead, Jane Addams, Alasdair MacIntyre, Carol Gilligan, Seyla Benhabib, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Jonathan Haidt. It thus seeks to integrate alternative voices at the “foundations” of sociological theorising about morality, while entering into dialogues with post-Enlightenment moral philosophy and contemporary moral psychology. In so doing, it engages with perspectives of pragmatism, virtue ethics, care ethics, feminist critiques, and moral foundations theory. The essays discuss key topics in social theories of morality, including moral action, socialisation, habit and reflexiveness, relationships, emotion, self, identity, racism and colonialism, universalism, and innateness. It centres crucial (but often overlooked) questions of moral power, and assesses the relationship between moral theorising and normative argument. The essays are conjoined by a running theme of moral agency—how it is constituted and how it is enacted—which orientates the book’s arguments and critiques.

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Owen Abbott

Themen in »Social Theorists of Morality«

Sociology of morality Ethics Moral philosophy Moral psychology Social theory Moral practice Moral agency Moral power

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“Owen Abbott’s Social Theorists of Morality is an excellent and much-needed work. The sociology of morality is a vibrant field, which has produced important findings and conceptual frameworks. However, less attention has been devoted to the ideas of social theorists of morality and what they might bring to the table. This is precisely what Abbott’s book offers. His essays on individual authors are consistently discerning and well researched. Further, his insightful account of morality goes beyond the standard theory canon and exploits synergies among sociological, psychological, and philosophical approaches. This is a must-read book for sociologists of morality, but also for sociological theorists, sociologists of culture, social psychologists, and scholars of morality in other disciplines.” (Gabriel Abend, Professor of Sociology, University of Lucerne)

“This book is a tour de force. Focusing on a range of key thinkers, including neglected and marginalised voices, Abbott draws out key themes in the social theory of morality to establish what a properly ‘social’ account of morality requires. Abbott demonstrates the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, connecting moral theory with empirical research, and situating questions of moral intuition, agency and judgement within people’s experience of ‘ordinary’ practical dilemmas. The clarity, breadth and depth of Abbott’s analysis is remarkable. Essential reading for scholars of the sociology of morality.” (Prof. Wendy Bottero, Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester)

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