Volume 40, 2024
Conflict, Crisis, and Catastrophe
Reyes Espinoza, Leonard Harris
Pages 187-199
https://doi.org/10.5840/socphiltoday202440114
An Interview with Leonard Harris
Moral Imperatives and Moral Imagination or Eradicating Necro-Being while Escaping Western Traditions
Mass incarceration in the United States of America, Palestine/Israel in a renewed war since October 7, 2023, and displacement of the underclass in nation-states throughout the planet¡ªthese are moral situations of group conflicts and catastrophes at national and international levels. These three situations are our main practical points of reflection for moral inquiry and criticism. We discuss these three moral situations of group conflict and catastrophes in the context of critical pragmatism, largely following and analyzing the moral philosophy of critical pragmatist Alain LeRoy Locke (1885¡ª1954). There is also an emphasis on the moral imperative against necro-being¡ªexperiencing living death and being prevented, especially by social conditions, from leading good lives. Necro-being should be eradicated in all its forms. Racism explains the experience of destruction in our lives when race is invoked in its most pernicious forms. Racism is a type of necro-being. Universal human liberation from necro-being is a laudable goal every nation on the planet should pursue.