Ethics of proximity:a new perspective and theoretical construction for exploring ethics in an uncertain era
In a"non-normal"societal state,the failure of existing moral norms and the breakdown of ethical experience have become issues that contemporary ethics cannot avoid.On one hand,this is a display of the uncertainty risks that have become the norm in contemporary society.On the other hand,contemporary ethics strategies for addressing ethical risks are hindered by excessive formalization and instrumental rationalization,contributing to the exacerbation of uncertainty ethical risks instead of mitigating societal ethical risks.This predicament is rooted in the dual risks resulting from the"polarized"development of uncertain characteristics specific to modern society and the paradigm of contemporary ethics.Forgotten and neglected is the"ethics of proximity,"as modern ethics excessively focuses on the isolated"individual"and tends towards the remote"entity,"which forms an integrated structural problem.The divergence between the"extremely close"and the"extremely distant"leads to the disappearance of the"proximity"in the ethical exploration vision.Returning to the"proximity"of the moral life world,reshaping the ethical connections of the"neighbors"with whom each of us interacts directly,and focusing on the specific practical processes of individual moral cultivation can provide contemporary ethics with a strong foundation for ethical perception and moral inspiration.This offers a new perspective for contemporary ethical theoretical construction and an avenue for transcending the"non-normal"state.