Quest for a universal morality: Jurgen Habermas and Sri Aurobindo

Abstract

Morals in the sociological and anthropological discourse have been looked at as a construction of culture and as an appendage of social norms. In the conventional sense, moral development culture. But such a notion of morality and moral development ignores the question of the Being and the universal issues of justice, well-being and freedom. In this context, psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg speaks of the post-conventional stage of moral development when the individual differentiates his on her self from the rules and expectations of others and defines his or her values in terms of self-chosen ethical principles. Such a post-themselves from the historical coloration of particular form of life" and transcend the unjust givens of their native cultures. Such a moral awareness also prepares the ground for a genuine universality. The present paper looks into the issue of universal morality in the context of contemporary structural and discursive transformation, which is marked by globalisation. The paper discusses the work of German philosopher Jurgen Habermas and Indian spiritual prophet Sri Aurobindo and critically looks at different paths for the quest for universal morality in out contemporary world, which is marked by a hegemonic ascendancy of power and money as currencies of life, and a pervasive demoralisation of discourse.