Adela Cortina: "The weapon of social shame is very effective but can be very dangerous because it reinforces polarisation"



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## Adela Cortina: "The weapon of social shame is very effective but can be very dangerous because it reinforces polarisation"

02/02/2023 |
SCP

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* [![ setmana-etica-filosofia Etica_Demo_Politica_23DLL093](/com/noticies/2023/2/1q/setmana-etica-filosofia/Etica_Demo_Politica_23DLL093.jpg)](#)

The Universitat Jaume I is hosting this week the 21st meeting of the Spanish Association of Ethics and Political Philosophy which, under the slogan "Ethics, Democracy and Artificial Intelligence", will analyse the impact of the most disruptive technologies in different spheres of society. The meeting, with the participation of nearly 200 researchers, was inaugurated by the Rector of the UJI, Eva Alcón; the President of the Spanish Society of Ethics and Political Philosophy, Concha Roldán, and the Professor of Moral Philosophy, Domingo García-Marzá.

In her speech, the rector stressed the importance of this meeting, given that "artificial intelligence is revolutionising the world and can have a great impact on society and democracy, so we must ensure that it is designed, developed and used in a responsible and ethical manner".

Next, the philosopher and doctor honoris causa Adela Cortina gave the inaugural lecture entitled "Democracy and post-truth", in which she reflected on the theory of the "spiral of silence", by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann. Cortina explained that the most subtle mechanism for silencing proposals is through the repudiation of public opinion because "there is more fear of isolation than of error", as the thinker Tocqueville stated. "In societies, self-censorship of those opinions that are not going to be well received works, and this is a gag on freedom of expression and an obstacle to democracy", she said.

In this sense, the philosopher tackled the concept of "moralistic aggression", a morality that brings groups together, but which achieves this cohesion by provoking social shame in those who break the rules. "The weapon of social shame is very effective but can be very dangerous because it reinforces polarisation. The moralisation of polarised positions makes deliberation and negotiation impossible, which are essential in any democratic society, in which the diversity of opinions must enter into dialogue", she pointed out.

Finally, Adela Cortina explained that the solution does not lie in demoralising society so that it can be democratic, because the "responsibility" does not lie with morality, but with those who manipulate it to reinforce their identity, to gain status and reputation, through the desire to reinforce polarisation. "It is not possible to absolutise an opinion by moralising it, but by dogmatising it, that is to say, by removing it from rational criticism. The contents of proposals are not absolute, they are made absolute by the way they are defended. This is precisely what the new politically correct movements do, which absolutise points of view, but when they are absolutised, they lose legitimacy and serve to exercise moralistic aggression", he affirmed. He concluded that it is precisely this absolutist use of morality that makes it clear that it is a manipulation, because a norm is moral because it is willing to give reasons for its validity.

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