
The Structure of Moral Revolutions
Studies of Changes in the Morality of Abortion, Death, and the Bioethics Revolution
Robert Baker(Author)
MIT Press
Published on 12. November 2019
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-262-04308-3 (ISBN)
Description
A theoretical account of moral revolutions, illustrated by historical cases that include the criminalization and decriminalization of abortion and the patient rebellion against medical paternalism.We live in an age of moral revolutions in which the once morally outrageous has become morally acceptable, and the formerly acceptable is now regarded as reprehensible. Attitudes toward same-sex love, for example, and the proper role of women, have undergone paradigm shifts over the last several decades. In this book, Robert Baker argues that these inversions are the product of moral revolutions that follow a pattern similar to that of the scientific revolutions analyzed by Thomas Kuhn in his influential book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. After laying out the theoretical terrain, Baker develops his argument with examples of moral reversals from the recent and distant past. He describes the revolution, led by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, that transformed the postmortem dissection of human bodies from punitive desecration to civic virtue; the criminalization of abortion in the nineteenth century and its decriminalization in the twentieth century; and the invention of a new bioethics paradigm in the 1970s and 1980s, supporting a patient-led rebellion against medical paternalism. Finally, Baker reflects on moral relativism, arguing that the acceptance of "absolute" moral truths denies us the diversity of moral perspectives that permit us to alter our morality in response to changing environments.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
1 b&w illus.; 2 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-262-04308-3 (9780262043083)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Additional editions

Robert Baker
The Structure of Moral Revolutions
Studies of Changes in the Morality ofAbortion, Death, and the Bioethics Revolution
E-Book
11/2019
MIT Press
€43.99
Available for download