Tracie Matysik Books

Reforming the Moral Subject delves into the ethics reform movement that thrived in Central Europe from 1890 to 1930. Tracie Matysik analyzes the contributions of German-speaking intellectuals and activists—moral philosophers, sociologists, legal theorists, pedagogy experts, psychoanalysts, and sexual liberationists—who utilized ethical discourse to invigorate the public sphere. These reformers challenged the prevailing public and state narratives equating morality with national loyalty, religious tradition, and restrictive sexual norms. They established organizations, published periodicals, and organized lectures and conferences to reimagine ethics for a secular modernity. Emerging in a milieu shaped by materialism, Darwinism, and the rise of sexology, the debates around ethics increasingly centered on sexuality's role in defining ethics and the moral subject. Intellectuals and activists reached a consensus that sexuality was crucial to understanding the moral subject. While some viewed the moral subject as one who represses sexual urges, others argued that sexual drives and autonomy were vital sources of moral sentiment. This linkage between sexuality and ethics created a fluid concept of the sexualized moral subject, resisting confinement to national identities. Matysik's insightful exploration reframes the landscape of German liberalism and intellectual activism from the late nineteenth century through the interwar period.