Transcendent insight---mystical, metaphysical, or revelatory (Layer 5).
Rather than assuming moral conflict is a sign of immaturity ( la Kohlberg) or irrationality ( la Rawlsian overlapping consensus), this model normalizes and honors moral dissonance as the lived reality of plural societies. But crucially, it insists that this polyphony is not neutral: it is inflected by power, epistemic, cultural, economic, political.
Thus, any normative ethics must begin not from abstract harmony, but from an analysis of which moral voice is dominant, which is silenced, and how agents negotiate the tension among them.
6.2 Redefinition of Moral Virtue: From Universal Goodness to Multilevel Goodness
Conventional moral theories, particularly in Western traditions, have long sought to define universal moral goods, justice (Rawls), categorical imperatives (Kant), utility (Mill), or authentic care (Gilligan). However, SMH challenges this pursuit by asserting that goodness is tiered, situated, and relational.
Rather than asking, "What is the highest good for all?" we ask:
What kind of good is being prioritized at a particular moral layer?
How does it relate to or conflict with other types of good?
-
Who benefits or suffers when one layer overrides the others?
For instance:
