The Moral Foundations of Social Institutions
A Philosophical Study

Seumas Miller provides an exciting new philosophical theory of contemporary social institutions and the ethical challenges they confront.

Seumas Miller (Author)

9780521744393, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 December 2009

382 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.56 kg

'With this book, [Miller] implores us to consider how much better things could be if we all - and in particular, if people in key institutional roles of power - stopped to attend to the purposes of our institutions and the choices we make within them. The mere possibility of social institutions as Miller envisions them changes the normative landscape. In this sense, the book not only offers a powerful general theory and great deal of fodder for contemporary philosophical debates, it also serves as a model for how careful philosophical inquiry allows us to better understand who we can and should be.' Alexa Forrester, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

In this book, Seumas Miller examines the moral foundations of contemporary social institutions. Offering an original general theory of social institutions, he posits that all social institutions exist to realize various collective ends, indeed, to produce collective goods. He analyses key concepts such as collective responsibility and institutional corruption. Miller also provides distinctive special theories of particular institutions, including governments, welfare agencies, universities, police organizations, business corporations, and communications and information technology entities. These theories are philosophical and, thus, foundational and synoptic in character. They are normative accounts of a sampling of contemporary social institutions, not descriptive accounts of all social institutions, both past and present. Miller also addresses various ethical challenges confronting contemporary institutional designers and policymakers, including the renovation of the international financial system, the 'dumbing down' of the media, the challenge of world poverty, and human rights infringements by security agencies combating global terrorism.

Introduction to 'the moral foundations of social institutions'
Part I. Theory: 1. A teleological account of institutions
2. The moral foundations of institutions
3. Individual autonomy: agency and structure
4. Collective moral responsibility
5. Institutional corruption
Part II. Applications: 6. The professions
7. Welfare institutions
8. The university
9. The police
10. The business corporation
11. Institutions and information and communication technology
12. Government.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]