The critical potential of goods in the Taylorian ethics

Abstract

The ethical-political dimension of Charles Taylor’s thought is grounded in an ontology of the human that is temporally constituted through the hierarchies embedded in the inseparable relationship between the self and goods. Taylor’s effort to integrate the fundamental—what he calls the “inescapable frameworks” of self-understanding – with the historically embedded sources that confer meaning to shared modes of existence seeks to preserve a substantive dimension, expressed through goods, while simultaneously enabling new forms of practical engagement. Within this dynamic, inherently conflictual relationship lies the critical potential of goods in Taylorian ethics. Rather than advancing a procedural regulatory ideal, Taylor conceives critique as an ongoing process of retrieval, disclosure, and articulation of diverse goods that can orient collective practices. This study adopts a qualitative, analytical-hermeneutic approach to examine the critical function of goods within Taylor’s ethical framework, specifically from the perspective of ontological conflict. Accordingly, the analysis proceeds in three stages: first, by presenting Taylor’s broad conception of ethics as shaped by historically co-constituted goods inextricably linked to the self; second, by examining the role of goods within an ontology of conflict as envisioned by Taylor; and third, by outlining the notion of immanent critique as an exercise in articulation – a central concept in his philosophy. In conclusion, critique is understood not only as a mode of evaluation and judgment, but also as a generative act capable of opening new possibilities for the mobilization of moral sources.