Morality and Civil Society

Abstract

Morality is central to the theories and practices of civil society but remains a controversial point for critics who question the boundary between the normative and the empirical. In this chapter, I argue that the sociology of morality can serve as descriptive ethics to provide empirical ground for dialogs between sociology and philosophy. This chapter first briefly reviews the main themes related to morality in civil society theories, primarily civic virtue and the common good and then discusses how the sociology of morality informs or could inform theoretical debates from an empirical perspective.