Ontological Blindness in Modern Moral Science

Philosophics — Philosophical and Political Ramblings · Jan 29, 2026 · 13m

This segment outlines an upcoming book project by language philosopher Bry Wills that critiques modern moral psychology for its failure to recognise deep ontological differences between cultural value systems. The author argues that prominent frameworks, such as Moral Foundations Theory, commit a category error by treating fundamentally different moral concepts as if they were identical, measurable units. This approach mistakenly labels cultural density as mere variety, often viewing groups that reject certain frameworks as having moral deficiencies rather than different worldviews. By…