Contested Morality: Judge Posner on Infanticide, Slavery, Suttee, Female Genital Mutilation, and the Holocaust

23 Pages Posted: 26 Aug 2008

Date Written: August 25, 2008

Abstract

Judge Richard Posner locates his moral theory between moral absolutism and the "anything goes" kind of moral relativism. He analyzes whether five contested topics are subject to useful moral debate: infanticide, slavery, suttee, female genital mutilation, and the Holocaust. Each topic presents a different perspective on his own moral theory. But each one fails in a different way to place his own moral theory on a sound footing.

Keywords: Judge Posner, morality, infanticide, slavery, suttee, female genital mutilation, Holocaust, moral relativism, moral theory

JEL Classification: K39, K10, K19

Suggested Citation

D'Amato, Anthony, Contested Morality: Judge Posner on Infanticide, Slavery, Suttee, Female Genital Mutilation, and the Holocaust (August 25, 2008). Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 08-27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1255306 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1255306

Anthony D'Amato (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law ( email )

375 E. Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
United States

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