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澳门老奇人论坛 professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Steven Fesmire is the author of the new book 鈥淏eyond Moral Fundamentalism: Toward a Pragmatic Pluralism.鈥�

Published by Oxford University Press, Fesmire鈥檚 book delves into moral fundamentalism, 鈥渢he my-way-or-the-highway notion that my group has exclusive access to the right diagnoses and prescriptions to our moral and political problems,鈥� the professor explains. 

鈥淢oral fundamentalism,鈥� Fesmire continues, 鈥渃auses us to oversimplify problems, neglect broader context, take refuge in dogmatic absolutes, ignore possibilities for common ground, assume privileged access to the right way to proceed and shut off honest inquiry.鈥�

In his book, Fesmire describes an alternative approach, pragmatic pluralism, 鈥渢hat can be applied to complex ethical, political, educational and policy problems. This approach avoids flattening variability among values or presuming that abstract theories can determine what we ought to do on the ground.鈥�

In an engaging style, Fesmire argues that the single-right-way premise that logically underlies moral fundamentalism is both unwarranted and constrictive, and that quests for unifying moral principles can still be accommodated within a wider pluralistic approach.

In a post for Oxford University Press鈥檚 鈥淎cademic Insights for the Thinking World鈥� blog, Fesmire regarding moral fundamentalism: (1) What is it? (2) Is it really such a bad thing? (3) Is it good for motivating public action? and (4) Are we stuck with it?

The Radford professor and past president of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy is also the author of 鈥淛ohn Dewey and Moral Imagination: Pragmatism in Ethics鈥� (Indiana University Press, 2003) and 鈥淒ewey鈥� (Routledge, 2015), each of which received 鈥淥utstanding Academic Title鈥� awards from Choice magazine. Fesmire is also editor of 鈥淭he Oxford Handbook of Dewey鈥� (Oxford University Press, 2019; Paperback edition, 2023).

In addition to his books and articles, Fesmire鈥檚 published writings have recently appeared in , , , , The Humanist, The Key Reporter, and His conversation with Bob Denton about moral leadership will air this fall on Blue Ridge PBS. 

In 2022, Fesmire was honored with Radford's College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences Distinguished Scholar Award, and he was a recipient of the university鈥檚 2022-2023 Dalton Eminent Senior Scholar Award. 

Read a of 鈥淏eyond Moral Fundamentalism: Toward a Pragmatic Pluralism.鈥�