“As for the ethics, law, and politics relationship, there has always been a tension for me as I try to keep them distinct while recognizing their interactions. A valuable contribution to my thinking there and elsewhere was Ellen Meiksins Wood's Mind and Politics, which reinforced for me the ways in which seemingly disparate philosophical endeavors were/are interconnected, and although I have tended to give a certain priority to ethical considerations as part of practical reasoning, I am reminded often enough that this position makes some contentious presumptions .” ThinkingGivingTryingMindEnoughEthicsPhilosophicalValuablePrioritiesTensionConsiderationEthicalElsewherePresumption Author:John Kleinig
“In separating out, say, legal and moral requirements, I tend to work with paradigms rather than strict divisions - eg, paradigmatically, legal requirements are jurisdictionally bound whereas ethical requirements are aspirationally universal; ethical requirements focus especially on intentions whereas legal requirements focus primarily on conduct; ethical requirements take priority over legal requirements; and so on.” MoralFocusIntentionPrioritiesEthicalParadigm Author:John Kleinig
“My view of ethics and of its priority is connected to my view that we are fundamentally relational beings - both the product of human interactions, as well as committed as part of the expression of our own humanity to various social involvements. I see ethics as having two places in the maintenance of these relational activities - first as providing the basic coinage of our interactions qua humans and second as mediating the various roles we assume as humans.” HumanityEthicsAssumingCommittedVariousPrioritiesInvolvement Author:John Kleinig
“I see ethical considerations as having a certain priority in our interactions - passing judgment on our political and legal processes.” PoliticalJudgmentPrioritiesConsiderationEthical Author:John Kleinig