Should everyone be treated equally? | Alain de Botton, Alex OConnor, Seyla Benhabib, Tommy Curry

Alain de Botton, Tommy Curry, and Seyla Benhabib debate nationalism, immigration, and the possibility of a universal morality.

Is moral universalism simply a pipe dream?

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Many see populism with its focus on immigration and nationalism as not only politically dangerous but morally wrong. This reflects the universalist morality of the main Western moral frameworks. But critics argue moral universalism generates a case for favouring strangers over the interests of those close to us and that it is profoundly mistaken. In contrast, Chinese Confucian morality accepts partiality towards our nearest. Recent studies have shown that we do in practice favour those close to us, and moreover that we think we are morally right to do so.

#immigration #nationalism #morality #philosophy

Alain de Botton is the best-selling philosopher and founder of The School of Life, an organisation dedicated to developing emotional intelligence through philosophy, psychotherapy, and culture. Seyla Benhabib is one of the most influential political philosophers of her generation and is the author of At the Margins of the Modern State. Tommy Curry is the Personal Chair of Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies at the University of Edinburgh, renowned for his critical scholarship on the intersection of race, gender, and power. Alex O'Connor hosts.

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https://iai.tv/video/neighbours-before-strangers

0:00 "You're not going to love your fellow citizen"
00:32 Should we value our neighbours more than we value strangers?
01:37 Alain de Botton on the roots of moral universalism in Christianity
05:29 Seyla Benhabib: Universalist morality is hypocritical
10:18 Tommy Curry on why philosophy is not fit for purpose
14:14 The history of the modern nation state

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