Real American Ethics

Book

Albert Borgmann. Real American Ethics: Taking Responsibility for Our Country. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006

Reviewer

Paul C. Heidebrecht, PhD candidate, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

Since his landmark Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life was published in 1984, philosopher Albert Borgmann has been frequently cited in discussions about technology not only among philosophers but among sociologists, environmentalists, and even theologians. He has continued to publish widely on the topic, and at first glance his most recent book may appear out of place.

The title suggests a political platform or manifesto, an impression reinforced by the opening line of the preface: “This book is my attempt to come to terms with the country I love” (ix). Connections with the rest of Borgmann’s corpus soon become apparent, however, and I think this book is an attempt to unpack the broader political significance of his philosophical reflections on technology and culture.

Borgmann does clearly situate himself within a particular political context. One of his overarching arguments is that there must be a renewal of distinctively American virtues, such as generosity and resourcefulness, if the United States is to flourish. This renewal requires the “concentration and illumination” of dispersed movements of reform through a vision that is national in scope (197).

As someone who has written much about households and local communities, this does seem to be new terrain for Borgmann. Yet the more basic argument he develops here is that his nation needs renewal because its citizens have been disengaged by consumerism and modern technology – by the commodification of both private and public goods. In short, moral conduct not only governs, but is governed by, our “tangible environment” (30).

To underline this point, the author repeatedly quotes Winston Churchill, a surprising choice for a book on American ethics: “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us” (5). Nonetheless, “Churchill’s principle” echoes and encapsulates much of Borgmann’s earlier work on technology, and buildings come to serve as a metaphor for common structures that are social and political as well as physical.

This book can also be viewed as a significant work in philosophical ethics. Indeed, it is because of the complex relationship between ideas, actions, and the tangible environment that Borgmann is convinced Americans need to reconsider their understanding of ethics. Thus: “Theoretical ethics, practical ethics, and real ethics should be thought of not as rivals but as complements of one another” (30), and this book is structured around three parts focusing on these three dimensions.

Part one engages philosophers such as Kant and Mill in the course of discussing “The Charms of Principles” (47) and “The Dark Sides of Utilitarianism” (55). Part two is informed by virtue ethics, as Borgmann moves on to consider practices. Along the way he considers personal virtues such as wisdom, courage, and friendship, and political virtues such as justice, stewardship, and design.

Part three focuses on the author’s own contribution to ethical discourse, what he calls “real” ethics. As he says in an introductory chapter:

Ethics has to become real as well as theoretical and practical. It has to become a making as well as a doing. Real means tangible; real ethics is taking responsibility for the tangible setting of life. Real also means relevant, and real ethics is grounding theoretical and practical ethics in contemporary culture and making them thrive again. (11)

After linking the contours of real ethics with both “The Economy of the Household” (ch. 13) and “The Design of Public Space” (ch. 14), Borgmann concludes by revisiting his earlier discussion of Thomas Jefferson. What makes Jefferson so compelling is how he exemplifies the ideal of centering our lives in our households in ways that “can give us the courage to join with our neighbors in the design of a public realm” (201).

There is much to commend in this volume, not least of which is the author’s accessible writing style. Newcomers to both philosophy and Borgmann’s work will also appreciate his penchant for moving beyond diagnosis of the ills of contemporary culture to offering a prescription for its renewal.

However, Borgmann’s interest in framing ethics within his own political context will be less helpful for those not sharing this context or not agreeing that the nation “provides a fair scope for ethics” (3). No doubt Canadians are shaped by the same kind of commodification as their neighbors to the south, and no doubt Mennonites and other Anabaptists have much to learn from the attention the author pays to the environment that shapes our daily lives. But in my view those who find themselves in these categories have more to gain by starting with one of his earlier works.