An Interactionist Framework: Re-imagining the Role of Ethics in Our Social and Professional Worlds from a Pragmatist Lens

The chapter analyzes the role of philosophy and hence the need for integrating philosophy into STEM higher education and professional training. The focus is on a particular field of philosophy, namely Ethics or Moral philosophy. I highlight the role of ethics in our social world and the necessity of thinking about ethical problems in professional spaces. I do so by reflecting on the nature of moral values and the relation between our moral and social worlds. I develop the Interactionist thesis from a lens rooted in the philosophical tradition of pragmatism to theorize the relation between the moral and the social. The Interactionist thesis argues that ethics can be a powerful problem-solving tool. As we recognize the dynamic interaction between the moral and the social, we realize how deep moral questions are inevitable aspects of social problem-solving, be it through technology, medicine or science. The analysis reiterates philosophy's role in making the scientific, technological, and professional worlds more responsible and just.