GUSNOTE: SHOW ME AN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT THAT ADMITS ITS MORAL ERROR AND I WILL SHOW YOU A DUCK LIVING ON THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON...
When we try to reconcile opposing moral opinions we usually appeal to shared ethical principles. Yet often enough the principles themselves are opposed. We may then try to reconcile opposing principles by clarifying how we arrived at them. But since most of our principles are cultural inheritances, discussions halt at a tolerant mutual respect, even when we remain convinced that the other person is wrong. What is needed is a method in ethics that can uncover the sources of error.
About Bernard Lonergan (1904—1984)