ABSTRACT
It is often said that one of the crucial differences between Asian and Western cultures lies in their different conceptions of the self. This chapter examines this claim and its consequences for the domain of morality. Do the cultures of Asia and the West indeed have distinct models of the self? If yes, how does the difference affect their ways of conceiving of the moral domain? And what is the role played by the notion of moral agency in the conception of this domain? While addressing these questions, the chapter assesses the extent to which the moral systems of the West are intelligible and accessible to people from Asian cultures. It examines some of the crucial differences between the dominant conceptions of morality in Indian and Western culture: ‘appropriateness’ is the most fundamental category for judging actions in Indian culture, while stories play a crucial role in this culture’s process of socialisation and moral learning. The chapter constitutes a first attempt to describe Western ethics against the background of an Asian culture such as India.
