Self-Deception, Globalization and Magnanimity

Abstract

Human transgressions of laws and human vital order derive partially from a fundamental misperception of oneself in relation to the world. Self-deception is at the root of lack of virtue, although it is not the only cause of human vice. In this new globalized arena of contending virtues and vices, the mentioned basic misleading interpretation of oneself comes to the fore. Globalization implies a broadening of the concept of human not only in theory, but also in a practical way. That is why the limits of good and evil have to increasingly take into account the totality of human affairs, and sociability becomes more clearly the touchstone of moral behaviour. If we assume that nothing from outside of man defiles man, we have to question what it is inner for us, and how our interior and exterior are related to each other. The human interior is made up of theoretical and practical assumptions and assertions, like a field of veracity that moves throughout a person’s life, progressing or regressing in terms of virtue. Progress implies humanization of the person. Again, the globalization process can bring about a practical shift in the idea of man’s exterior and interior limits, or a better understanding of the meaning and scope of sociality in humans. As a conclusion, we must assess how human moral progress in our contemporary world depends on a revitalization of the virtue of magnanimity.