A New Metaphysics of Morals

Prof Brian Ellis (La Trobe University)

A New Metaphysics of Morals

Brian Ellis

The paper develops a post-Kantian foundation for moral and political theory, which is based on a concept of what is ideally desirable rather than on what is ideally rational. As a political philosophy, it defines a true middle ground, which is a kind of welfare state. As a moral philosophy, it grounds the modern socially democratic charters of human rights and entitlements. It is the kind of philosophy required for a state based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.