Ethics and rule breaking in a vulnerable society: some challenges

Abstract

Scientific and procedural rationality becomes compatible with subjectivism, increasing the modern ethical void. In this work I will show how that void impact in disruptive behavior. First, I shortly describe the general problem of our moral culture making dialogue one of the most important contemporary moral philosophers, Enmanuel Levinas and the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, who has made the main critical contribution to the moral culture. Second, I will make some observations in the sphere of art, where it is specially notorious how the crisis of ethics due to the evolution of the culture of individualism affects to the behavior erasing limits -v.g. Proof-Of-Authority-, extending the beliefs that all is possible, that anyone can do anything, everything can happen, and, so that, rules and forecast are perceived more relatives that never. In a third step, I will focus the attention on the multidisciplinary field of Criminology -rule breaking, deviance-, because it is the main place where can be proof the failure of norms which lead society to both, problems for coexistence, and ability to predict insecurity. The formulas invented by social scientist to understand “normal” as well “deviant” behaviour, seems to fail more than ever. That should make us consider two kinds of challenges. How can we reinforce the ethical side of the norms under a cultural environment secularized and liquid, and physically threatened? How can we manage the self-criticism in social sciences so that we not all in the pessimism apparently propitiated by Cancel Culture?