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Morally controversial vehicle SUV: "Accusations should always be in proportion to the offense."
Photo: Stefan Zeitz / imago images
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Neuhäuser, travel, food, fashion - many everyday things are increasingly being checked for their moral value today.
Have we become more moral?
Neuhäuser:
It would be nice!
SPIEGEL:
But it really is the case that many today have moral standards when it comes to eating or traveling that people didn't have before.
To person
Photo:
Elmar Kremser / SvenSimon / picture alliance
Christian Neuhäuser
is Professor of Political Philosophy at the Technical University of Dortmund.
In 2018 his much-discussed book "Wealth as a moral problem" was published.
Now, together with Christian Seidel, Professor of Philosophical Anthropology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, he has published the volume »Critique of Moralism« (Suhrkamp).
Neuhäuser:
But that is also due to the fact that connections have been uncovered that were not so clear before.
How much water does a single steak use, for example, and how precisely there is a risk of water scarcity.
It cannot yet be deduced from this that we would become more moral overall.
In other areas, morale is being cut back a lot.
Consensual sexuality has become much more liberal, including family ideas.
In the past there was not only more morality here, but also a lot of moralism, which fortunately has been reduced.
SPIEGEL:
Today vegans and climate-conscious people are often accused of moralism.
What is the difference between moralism and morality?
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