Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MIGHT (Moral Impossibility: Rethinking Choice and Conflict)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-12-31
The aim of the action has been to develop and propose a new philosophical framework based on the concept of moral impossibility (MI) as a key domain of moral experience with important theoretical and practical ramifications. The project’s objectives included using MI to help us re-think the boundaries within which deliberation, choice, public and private debate, and the shaping of personal and social identity take place. In its applied element, MI can help gain a different understanding of intractable moral conflict. The project’s deliverables have included two academic events (a workshop and a conference), international academic talks, two major outreach events (experiential philosophy workshops), two podcasts, two public articles, submissions of scientific papers and of one book proposal. All of this has contributed to making MI a recognised field of enquiry and, through the academic events and the book proposal in particular, encouraged other philosophers to think about the questions that MI raises, thereby co-developing its potential and opening new avenues into future research.
The research objectives are:
1 To propose a unified conception of MI, contributing to moral theory on decision beyond rational deliberation. Including literature review and assessment of the moral psychology of choice, motivation, and freedom.
2 To assess the moral value of different types of MI, and the desirability or otherwise of silencing morally problematic possibilities.
3 To offer a new approach to cases of intractable moral conflict, through an analysis of contemporary case studies.
The career objectives are:
1 To forge new international collaborations (linking CE at Pardubice with CEPL in Dublin and with the Messerli Institute at the University of Vienna).
2 To expand the researcher’s skillset, including supervision training and social science methodology.
4 To increase grant application potential by further training.
5 To reach professional maturity creating a clear research line and acquiring the Habilitation for Associate Professor.
The research objectives are:
1 To propose a unified conception of MI, contributing to moral theory on decision beyond rational deliberation. Including literature review and assessment of the moral psychology of choice, motivation, and freedom.
2 To assess the moral value of different types of MI, and the desirability or otherwise of silencing morally problematic possibilities.
3 To offer a new approach to cases of intractable moral conflict, through an analysis of contemporary case studies.
The career objectives are:
1 To forge new international collaborations (linking CE at Pardubice with CEPL in Dublin and with the Messerli Institute at the University of Vienna).
2 To expand the researcher’s skillset, including supervision training and social science methodology.
4 To increase grant application potential by further training.
5 To reach professional maturity creating a clear research line and acquiring the Habilitation for Associate Professor.
WP1
The WP1 delineates the field of MI as a distinctive domain of morality and ethical enquiry. This consisted in unifying and refining existing discussions relevant to MI (on unthinkability, moral incapacity, practical necessity, and option ranges), including a comprehensive literature review on the topic, to provide a coherent and distinctive conception of this domain and show how MI is crucial in expanding ethical reflection and discussion beyond deliberation and argument. Instrumental to this WP was the multi-disciplinary approach, which included a survey of MI in psychology and sociology (option ranges and taboo cognition). The main research output of the WP have been: a research paper ‘Why Moral Impossibility Matters’, submitted to Philosophers’ Imprint; and an edited volume proposal, ‘Moral Impossibility’ (submitted to Routledge).
WP2
WP2 built on WP1 by asking normative questions about MI: What do our moral impossibilities say about us, and how can we describe the different ways possibilities do and do not enter individual fields of moral vision? The main theoretical approach here has been a combination of virtue theory and empirical psychology. The key output has been a joint talk and article with M.S. Vaccarezza (Genoa): ‘Moral transformation and shifting possibilities’, submitted to The Journal of Ethics (2023). Simone Weil’s ideas inform questions of impossibility, necessity and obedience, hence the output also included a paper and a volume on Weil: ‘Perception, Self, and Zen: On Iris Murdoch and the Taming of Simone Weil’ Philosophies 8,4:64 (2023); Mirror of Obedience, tr. and ed. with P. Wilson, Bloomsbury (2023). A strategic part of the WP was the workshop, which lay the foundation for future collaborations, particularly the book proposal: ‘Here I stand, I can do no other; or can I?’ On the reality of moral impossibility, UPa 2022. Dissemination included two research seminars, two conferences, and two workshops.
WP 3
The third WP focused on applied questions. How does the theory of MI so far developed help us understand contemporary moral problems, such as emerge as intractable conflicts? The outcome of the WP has been the proposal that we understand intractable moral conflict as a clash between mutually incompatible MIs: what one party demands is morally impossible for the other, and vice versa. This proposal has explanatory value, in showing why and how little progress is made either by rational argumentation or by the attempt to find common ground; tracing the sources of each party’s MI are strategies to understand and address, if not resolve, the conflict. This WP has been immensely improved by the research visit in 2023, with an intensive seminar with Profs Gleeson and Taylor at Flinders, and in Melbourne, where I worked closely with Prof Gaita, one of the leading thinkers on MI and key sources in the project. The research output includes: a book review ‘The Subversive Simone Weil by R. Zaretsky, The Iris Murdoch Review 14 (2023); the article ‘Landing with the firefly’, Constructivist Foundations 17(3): 210–211 (2022); and the initial draft of a paper ‘Moral impossibility, intractable conflict, and conspiracy theories’, with J. McGuire (UCD). The key dissemination of the WP was the international conference: ‘Possibilities, Impossibilities and Conflict in Ethics’, UPa 2023. In addition, the dissemination included four conference talks, two workshop talks and a departmental lecture. The main career development objective of the WP was met by achieving the Italian Associate Professorship Habilitation (ASN) in Moral Philosophy (2023).
WP 4
The Project management plan and Technical and financial reports have been delivered.
WP5
The training element has included a) CE research methods (seminar participation, supervision, intensive seminar with Prof Mulhall, Oxford); b) social science research methods and Atlas.ti c) PhD supervision; d) training in ERC grant application by Technology Centre CAS; e) joining the following: MCAA; Association for Critical Animals Studies; European Moral Psychology Research Network.
WP6
Communication included: website; 2 Philosophy Voiced podcasts: with Olli Lagerspetz; and with Sophie Grace Chappell: Radio interview ‘Moral impossibility and the Vegan Paradigm Shift’, CKCU FM Canada; Non specialist articles: ‘An Invitation of Attention’ Symposeum 5; ‘The Exactitude of Suffering’, Thinkful.ie; ‘Trust and OCD’, Thinkful.ie; CE blog post ‘The name of the mother’. The key outreach event of the action was the public ‘Experiential philosophy workshop: moral impossibility and being animals’ (in Prague and Pardubice).
The WP1 delineates the field of MI as a distinctive domain of morality and ethical enquiry. This consisted in unifying and refining existing discussions relevant to MI (on unthinkability, moral incapacity, practical necessity, and option ranges), including a comprehensive literature review on the topic, to provide a coherent and distinctive conception of this domain and show how MI is crucial in expanding ethical reflection and discussion beyond deliberation and argument. Instrumental to this WP was the multi-disciplinary approach, which included a survey of MI in psychology and sociology (option ranges and taboo cognition). The main research output of the WP have been: a research paper ‘Why Moral Impossibility Matters’, submitted to Philosophers’ Imprint; and an edited volume proposal, ‘Moral Impossibility’ (submitted to Routledge).
WP2
WP2 built on WP1 by asking normative questions about MI: What do our moral impossibilities say about us, and how can we describe the different ways possibilities do and do not enter individual fields of moral vision? The main theoretical approach here has been a combination of virtue theory and empirical psychology. The key output has been a joint talk and article with M.S. Vaccarezza (Genoa): ‘Moral transformation and shifting possibilities’, submitted to The Journal of Ethics (2023). Simone Weil’s ideas inform questions of impossibility, necessity and obedience, hence the output also included a paper and a volume on Weil: ‘Perception, Self, and Zen: On Iris Murdoch and the Taming of Simone Weil’ Philosophies 8,4:64 (2023); Mirror of Obedience, tr. and ed. with P. Wilson, Bloomsbury (2023). A strategic part of the WP was the workshop, which lay the foundation for future collaborations, particularly the book proposal: ‘Here I stand, I can do no other; or can I?’ On the reality of moral impossibility, UPa 2022. Dissemination included two research seminars, two conferences, and two workshops.
WP 3
The third WP focused on applied questions. How does the theory of MI so far developed help us understand contemporary moral problems, such as emerge as intractable conflicts? The outcome of the WP has been the proposal that we understand intractable moral conflict as a clash between mutually incompatible MIs: what one party demands is morally impossible for the other, and vice versa. This proposal has explanatory value, in showing why and how little progress is made either by rational argumentation or by the attempt to find common ground; tracing the sources of each party’s MI are strategies to understand and address, if not resolve, the conflict. This WP has been immensely improved by the research visit in 2023, with an intensive seminar with Profs Gleeson and Taylor at Flinders, and in Melbourne, where I worked closely with Prof Gaita, one of the leading thinkers on MI and key sources in the project. The research output includes: a book review ‘The Subversive Simone Weil by R. Zaretsky, The Iris Murdoch Review 14 (2023); the article ‘Landing with the firefly’, Constructivist Foundations 17(3): 210–211 (2022); and the initial draft of a paper ‘Moral impossibility, intractable conflict, and conspiracy theories’, with J. McGuire (UCD). The key dissemination of the WP was the international conference: ‘Possibilities, Impossibilities and Conflict in Ethics’, UPa 2023. In addition, the dissemination included four conference talks, two workshop talks and a departmental lecture. The main career development objective of the WP was met by achieving the Italian Associate Professorship Habilitation (ASN) in Moral Philosophy (2023).
WP 4
The Project management plan and Technical and financial reports have been delivered.
WP5
The training element has included a) CE research methods (seminar participation, supervision, intensive seminar with Prof Mulhall, Oxford); b) social science research methods and Atlas.ti c) PhD supervision; d) training in ERC grant application by Technology Centre CAS; e) joining the following: MCAA; Association for Critical Animals Studies; European Moral Psychology Research Network.
WP6
Communication included: website; 2 Philosophy Voiced podcasts: with Olli Lagerspetz; and with Sophie Grace Chappell: Radio interview ‘Moral impossibility and the Vegan Paradigm Shift’, CKCU FM Canada; Non specialist articles: ‘An Invitation of Attention’ Symposeum 5; ‘The Exactitude of Suffering’, Thinkful.ie; ‘Trust and OCD’, Thinkful.ie; CE blog post ‘The name of the mother’. The key outreach event of the action was the public ‘Experiential philosophy workshop: moral impossibility and being animals’ (in Prague and Pardubice).
The impact of the project as outlined in the DoA includes a) the development and visibility of a new idea in moral philosophy, leading to the adoption of a novel framework for key moral concepts such as choice, freedom, and personal identity, and moral conflict, b) the development of research skills and a mature research profile for the researcher, and c) the development of new research networks connecting UPa with international institutions abroad (especially UCD and Vienna). The action has also consistently taken into account requirements of ethics and justice from a social, gender, species, and environmental perspective. The gender balance of the action has leant towards greater female participation, much needed in academia and philosophy.