INDOCTRINATION, MORAL INSTRUCTION, AND NONRATIONAL BELIEFS: A PLACE FOR AUTONOMY?

摘要

In this essay, I have argued that critics of indoctrination are not only guilty of conflating it with legitimate moral instruction, but that they also fail to take into consideration the resilience of individuals who have embraced a set of beliefs and practices that have been passed down to them.59 It is likely that each of us will test our ideas and beliefs in one way or another, though probably not all at the same time and certainly not with the same conclusions. For liberals truly to value pluralism, they cannot refuse to accept the conclusions that others have come to, provided that those conclusions do not justify harming others. Concerning the nature of one's beliefs, I have maintained that nonrational beliefs need not conflict with autonomy or, for that matter, with reasonableness. A worthy life does not depend only on views that are capable of rational analysis and systematic doubt. Nor must one be forced to choose between the goods of cultural belonging and value pluralism.