Moral progress

Moral progress is a change in moral beliefs or practices judged to improve how people treat one another, such as by reducing cruelty or widening equal concern.

Moral realism: The view that at least some moral claims are true independently of individual or collective attitudes. If moral truths are objective, progress can mean discovering or better recognizing them.
Abolitionism: The movement to end slavery and the slave trade. Its victories are often cited as a clear case of expanding recognition of human dignity.
Moral circle: The set of beings or groups regarded as deserving moral consideration. Changes in its boundaries can alter how people treat those once excluded.
Moral decline: A deterioration in moral beliefs, practices, or treatment of others. It is the direct opposite of improvement and can accompany gains in other areas.
Moral measurement: The attempt to assess moral conditions using indicators or comparative judgments. Progress claims need criteria for comparing treatment across times and societies.
Moral relativism: The view that moral judgments depend on cultural, historical, or individual frameworks rather than a universal standard. It challenges the idea that societies can be ranked by one shared measure of moral improvement.
Women's suffrage: The campaigns that secured women's legal right to vote. Extending political rights to women is a prominent example of changed moral and civic standing.
Social movements: Organized collective efforts to promote or resist social change. Movements make neglected harms visible and press institutions to change.
Moral luck: The influence of factors beyond an agent’s control on moral judgment or outcomes. It complicates comparisons between people and societies whose circumstances differ.
Moral change: A shift in moral beliefs, judgments, values, or practices. Change is descriptive; deciding whether it is improvement requires further standards.

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