Arts & Humanities

‘Why moral philosophy is the most important subject in the world,’ I began. I paused to acknowledge a few chuckles. ‘You think I’m joking, but in my talk, I hope to convince you it’s true. People are often surprised by how many students choose my courses. They assume that in today’s cynical society, few care about ethics. But we love to make moral judgements. It’s in our nature. Look at the popularity of shows such as Love Island. Judgements on right and wrong, fair, and unfair, are hard-wired into our circuitry. It’s been shown on neural imaging that humans have parts of the brain that light up when they perceive injustice. Several animals that live cooperatively have also showed responses to unfairness. It’s our ability to think in moral terms that lies at the heart of the success of humans as a species.

‘And let me tell you something…’ I pause for effect. ‘I get almost forty percent attendance in my lectures.’ Several colleagues gasped, impressed. ‘And that’s all the way through.’

‘Some are dismissive of philosophy, claiming that it’s self-indulgent, a load of dusty academics arguing over concepts and definitions. They claim that it isn’t concrete and important like science, technology, and business. This is why such subjects receive investment at the expense of the humanities. As a result, economic growth is on a fairly continuous upwards trend, and if it isn’t we panic. Innovation proceeds at breakneck speed. We haven’t learned how to operate one system before it’s upgraded to another. Data expands exponentially. And it’s not stored in some puffy white cloud, but huge data centres, belting out emissions, warming our planet.  We run to keep up with the latest new technologies, then we upgrade our hardware to account for the new software and vice versa and on it goes. But what’s the point of travelling very fast, if we’re rushing towards a cliff edge?

‘With our intelligence and industry, we have amassed great power. Nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence. Our high levels of production and consumption have changed the atmosphere, and this has led to the climate crisis. Never in the history of humankind has wisdom been a more necessary virtue, and never has our culture been less capable of nurturing it.

‘If we look at the history of civilisation, for centuries, morality was at the heart of society. Ancient philosophers debated the nature of right and wrong. Moral education was considered fundamental to creating a flourishing society. Religious institutions were centre stage for much of human history, with congregations expected to attend regularly to be reminded of the importance of ethical conduct. This was reflected in the arts. I shall illustrate this with the shortest and most profound poem ever written. It was just two words, and it was written by the self-proclaimed greatest boxer of all time, Mohammed Ali. It goes: ‘Me. We.’

‘In that brief ode is the plot of every story and the secret of humanity’s success and its failures. The tension between self and others lies at the heart of our political parties and our internal conflicts and relationships. Getting the balance right is crucial to our survival. We’ve aways known this and this is why throughout history, most plays were at heart morality tales. Stories had virtuous heroes and heroines winning out over the bad guys, or their own dark sides.

‘Now it’s fashionable to do the opposite. We used to teach the virtues. Now our culture promotes the vices. Gluttony, pride, envy, vanity, covetousness, lust. Our heroes are antiheroes – cynical, selfish, often ignorant. Think Homer Simpson and Family Guy. Restraint or temperance is seen as lack of self-esteem. We no longer think it’s appropriate to teach morality or values in schools and universities. We pride ourselves on being ‘objective’ and ‘value free’. But amorality, the ignoring of basic human values, isn’t a neutral position. Indeed, it’s deeply ideological, freeing students from any sense of moral responsibility. Our current economic theories promote self-interest as rational, and greed as good. Countries that have devoted themselves to the spirit of international solidarity are vilified …’

I paused, noticing Karl had put his hand up. ‘Do you mean Cuba?’ he asked.

‘Yes.’

Karl looked meaningfully at the man next to him who muttered something which sounded like ‘communist.’

I ignored him and continued. ‘Our culture has taken an about-turn. The rapid expansion of information has led to a corresponding increase in misinformation. The profit-based algorithms of news and social media amplify extremist positions and idiocy over reasoned argument.

‘Students today tell me they’re all about their values. They sense this is wrong but are caught up in the treadmill. But where are we running to? If we don’t buy enough the economy collapses. If we do, we’re destroying the planet we depend upon. We suspect we’re part of a giant Ponzi scheme and we wonder when it will explode but it’s exploding now. I saw it in the shaking shoulders of a student who is so scared of the future, she can barely eat.

‘Nothing in the world is as important as moral philosophy incorporating decoloniality (long overdue), critical thinking (essential) interdisciplinarity (nothing exists in a vacuum), and sustainability. Moral philosophy asks: what’s the right thing to do? What are good goals to strive towards? What’s best for society? What behaviours will lead to our flourishing and how do we encourage them?’

I paused for effect. I had the audience in the palm of my hand. Jenna was beaming. The big cheeses looked ready to get out their cheque books. I noticed a guy with a camera at the back filming the audience’s rapt expressions.