Kelly's theory of ethics: Hidden, mislaid, or misleading?

Abstract

Kelly did not explicitly aim to produce a special theory of ethics, but his work offers enough basic principles to give us an idea of what a personal construct theory of ethics would look like. In this article, I articulate the implicit theory of moral construing and reveiew its similarities to, and differences from, other theories. I pay special attention to the question of universalism versus relativism, a somewhat misleading issue in the presentation of personal construct theory. I conclude by proposing that personal construct psychology be construed as a universal and constructivist approach to ethics.