University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy Philosophy, Department of 1985 Introduction from Morality and Universality: Essays on Ethical Universalizability Nelson T. Potter University of Nebraska - Lincoln,
[email protected] Mark Timmons University of Illinois Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, and the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons Potter, Nelson T. and Timmons, Mark, "Introduction from Morality and Universality: Essays on Ethical Universalizability" (1985). Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy. 23. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/philosfacpub/23 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Philosophy, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - Department of Philosophy by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Potter & Timmons in Nelson Potter and Mark Timmons (editors), Morality and Universality, ix-xxxii. Copyright 1985, D. Reidel Publishing. Used by permission. INTRODUCTION In the past 25 years or so, the issue of ethical universalizability has figured prominently in theoretical as well as practical ethics. The term, ‘universalizability’ used in connection with ethical considerations, was apparently first introduced in the mid-1950s by R. M. Hare to refer to what he characterized as a logical thesis