Susan Neiman on 'Moral Clarity'

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Susan Neiman on 'Moral Clarity'

May 2009

Speakers: Susan Neiman

Susan Neiman discusses the themes of her book, Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-up Idealists (2008), before answer questions from the chair and the floor.

Neiman begins by reading an extract from Immanuel Kant, who looks at the idea that progression is towards a higher state of enlightenment. In her book, Neiman defends the enlightenment and here she justifies her reason for doing so. Neiman's reasons are positivistic and are based on the idea that the enlightenment and modernity go hand in hand: when it is clear that modernity has arrived, enlightenment is undeniable.

Neiman illustrates how the claim that society is degenerating is as old as it is insubstantial, exploring how it has occurred in different forms in religion and philosophy over time. Lastly, she looks to a society which is moral and happy. Both of these characteristics are dependent on the enlightenment, which gives humans an equal chance and right to happiness – a real value, a great achievement, and something that is reliant on active creativity, not consumption.