Moralism
Moralism is a philosophy that arose in the 19th century that concerns itself with imbuing society with a certain set of morals, usually traditional behaviour, but also "justice, freedom, and equality".[1] It has strongly affected North American and British culture, concerning private issues such as the family unit and sexuality, as well as issues that carry over into the public square, such as the temperance movement.[2]
The term has been used in a pejorative sense to describe the attitude of "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes".[3]
French moralists
[edit]
In French literature, the moralists (French: moralistes) were a tradition of secular writers who described "personal, social and political conduct", typically through maxims. The tradition is associated with the salons of the Ancien Régime from the 16th through the 18th centuries. The tradition begins with the Essais of Michel de Montaigne (1580), but its heyday was the late 17th century.[4]
Although the moralists wrote essays and pen-portraits, their preferred genre was the maxim. These were short abstract statements devoid of context, often containing paradoxes and always designed to shock or surprise. The moralists aimed for objective and impartial observation freed from the preconceptions of their day. Their approach was never systematic.[4] The four principal moralists and their main works are:
- François de La Rochefoucauld, Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales (1665)
- Jean de La Bruyère, Caractères ou les moeurs de ce siècle (1688)
- Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, Introduction à la connaissance de l’esprit humain, suivie de réflexions et maximes (1746)
- Nicolas Chamfort, Maximes et pensées, caractères et anecdotes (1795)
North America
[edit]In tracing the origins of moralism, sociologist Malcolm Waters writes that "Moralism emerged from a clash between the unrestrained character of frontier expansionism, a middle-class, Protestant emphasis on respectability cultivated in small-town America and an egalitarian and anti-intellectual evangelism among splinter Protestant groups."[5]
In the 19th century, the issues of abolition and temperance formed the "twin pillars" of moralism, becoming popular through Christian Churches in the United States, both Protestant and Roman Catholic.[6][7] Moralism as promoted by some Christian denominations, such as the Quakers, manifested in wide support for abolitionism.[8]
The rise of postmillennialism in the 19th century "encouraged a general culture of Protestant moralism and pushed it toward a series of social reform movements, from antislavery and abolitionism (freedom for the slaves now), to protests against Indian Removal, to antiwar and peace efforts, to women's rights, to temperance work before and after the Civil War."[9] As such, the campaign for women's suffrage, evidenced by the ethos of organisations such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), was highly driven by the moralism of that era.[10]
In the latter part of 20th century, as well as the 21st century, moralists in the United States turned their attention to championing the movement to criminalize abortion care.[2] Moralists have also focused their efforts in maintaining blue laws, such as those that discourage Sunday shopping, in accordance with first-day Sabbatarian beliefs and the sensibilities of some labourers and trade unions.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Theissen, Gerd (2007). The Bible And Contemporary Culture. Fortress Press. p. 147. ISBN 9781451408607.
- ^ a b Klingemann, Hans-Dieter; Fuchs, Dieter; Zielonka, Jan (2006). Democracy and Political Culture in Eastern Europe. Routledge. ISBN 9781134170418.
- ^ Archer, A. (2018). "The problem with moralism". Ratio. 31 (3): 342–350. doi:10.1111/rati.12168. S2CID 148850005.
- ^ a b Ian MacLean, "Moralistes", Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Taylor and Francis, 1998), doi:10.4324/9780415249126-DA035-1.
- ^ Waters, Malcolm (2002). Daniel Bell. Routledge. p. 73. ISBN 9781134845576.
- ^ Welter, Brian (6 May 2011). "Philosophy professor finds both Christians, secularists lacking". Catholic News Service. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018.
In many essays, Taylor shows how this excessive moralism in both the Protestant and Catholic churches from the 17th century onward led to a "polite" Christian society where being polite was more important than being Christian.
- ^ Robins, R. G. (2004). A. J. Tomlinson: Plainfolk Modernist. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199883172.
- ^ Ryan, James Emmett (2009). Imaginary Friends: Representing Quakers in American Culture, 1650-1950. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 51. ISBN 9780299231743.
Still operating at the margins of American religious discourse, Quaker civic moralism would see its legitimacy in the public sphere grow as increasing numbers of American citizens grew sympathetic with the Unionist and abolitionist causes.
- ^ Brekus, Catherine A.; Gilpin, W. Clark (2011). American Christianities: A History of Dominance and Diversity. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 50. ISBN 9780807869147.
- ^ Delany, Sheila (2007). Writing Woman: Sex, Class and Literature, Medieval and Modern. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 11. ISBN 9781556354434.
- ^ Steinfels, Peter (2013). The Neoconservatives: The Origins of a Movement: With a New Foreword, From Dissent to Political Power. Simon and Schuster. p. 37. ISBN 9781476729701.
External links
[edit]- History of social movements
- Christian theological movements
- Abolitionism
- Temperance movement
- Morality
- Trade unions
- Women's suffrage
- 19th century in the United States
- Pejorative terms
도덕주의
도덕주의 또는 모럴리즘(moralism)은 특정한 도덕을 우선시하는, 19세기에 발생한 철학이다. 여기서 특정한 도덕이란 보통의 경우에는 전통적인 행동을 말하지만 정의, 자유, 평등을 의미하기도 한다.[1]
모럴리스트
[편집]모럴리스트(moralist)는 도덕학자 또는 도덕 지상주의자, 도학자 등을 말한다.
16세기부터 18세기 초에 걸쳐 수필식으로 현실의 인간 심리나 풍속을 관찰·묘사하고, 이로써 한 개체의 인간이 보다 잘살기 위한 방법을 가르친 프랑스의 일련의 사상가들로 몽테뉴, 파스칼, 라 브뤼예르, 라 로슈푸코, 보브나르그 등이 있다.
같이 보기
[편집]- 교훈주의(didacticism)
===
미셸 드 몽테뉴
생애
[편집]몽테뉴라는 마을의 부유한 상인의 아들로 태어나 법률을 공부한 후, 보르도 법원에서 법관을 지냈다. 그 후 1571년 고향으로 돌아와 저술에 몰두하였다. 1580년 유명한 <수상록>을 완성시켰는데, 그는 이 책에서 인간의 거짓 없는 모습을 그렸다. 그와 같은 인간의 연구가·관찰가를 프랑스 문학사에서는 모랄리스트(인간 연구가)라 부르고 있다. 그는 프랑스의 모랄리스트 문학의 토대를 쌓았을 뿐만 아니라 수필 문학에도 커다란 영향을 주었다. 그는 처음에는 금욕적인 인생관을 가르쳤으나, 천동설이 지동설로 바뀌고, 신대륙이 발견되는 등 상식이 붕괴되자 충격을 받아, 인간 이성의 한계를 주장하면서 개혁을 혐오하고 보수주의를 신봉하였다. 그러나 내심으로는 자유주의를 지지하고, 귀족보다는 농민의 태도를 찬양하였으며, 형식주의적 법 이론을 배척하여 인간애를 고취하는 등 인간의 가치를 추구하였다.
