Dynamic Ethics

Introduction
Modern societies are rapidly changing societies, and their moralities are rapidly changing as well. Moral views on sexuality and on the treatment of animals have changed considerably over the past fifty years. The introduction of new medical technology, the creation of the Internet, and the globalization of our economies have confronted us with many new moral problems and challenges. Similar problems and challenges may be expected to arise in the next fifty years. Observations such as these are standard in ethics textbooks and articles by moral philosophers. However, ethical theorists have so far little reflected on the increasingly dynamic character of our morality as such. Whenever this is mentioned, it is usually regarded as an argument for our need of ethical reflection on new problems and, therefore, for the inclusion of ethics in every curriculum. Whenever it is addressed more explicitly, it is usually presented as an example of the problem of moral pluralism in modern societies.