Ethics and religion for a global multicultural society: the heed for a common ethics

No abstractRecently in the spirit of globalization and multiculturalism in the broad sense but also after the awakening of nationalist and religious fanaticism there is much talk about common values and efforts have been made for the recognition or constitution of a global ethics. These efforts are individual, collective and institutional and come from the sphere of philosophy, theology and world organizations. It is not perhaps accidental that three important events took place in 1993 to promote this idea and in 1996 the Philosophy Division of UNESCO launched an ambitious project for universal ethics mobilizing most distinguished philosophers and theologians in this field. Since then also the relevant philosophical literature is being continuously enriched. In 1993 and 1996 Huntington’s article and notorious book on the clash of civilizations were published. Human rights and the consent attained so far regarding the moral values that constitute their basis play a fundamental role for the promotion of inter-cultural dialogue as a necessary condition for the universalization not only of the economy but also of ethics. The most effective means and crucial factor for the prevalence of global spirit is education (paedeia)