Relational Process Ethics: A Novel Framework for Moral Life in Ontologically Unstable Contexts

This thesis examines the ethical stance appropriate for a world where Ontological Instability is true, where suffering is real but unstable, and where meaning emerges through relational engagement rather than fixed law. Building upon the author’s prior work on Ontological Instability, Emmanuel Levinas's relational ethics, Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy, and contemporary empirical research in moral psychology, this work proposes "Relational Process Ethics" (RPE) as a novel ethical framework uniquely suited to ontologically unstable contexts. The central thesis argues that rather than seeking stability in an unstable world, ethics should embrace instability as the fundamental condition within which moral life unfolds. RPE offers five core principles: the Instability Principle, the Relational Genesis Principle, the Process Actualization Principle, the Dynamic Suffering Principle, and the Emergent Meaning Principle. These principles converge in a primary ethical orientation of "Responsive Attunement" that emphasizes dynamic responsiveness to emerging ethical demands rather than adherence to fixed moral laws. Through formal logical analysis, empirical validation, and comprehensive theoretical development, this thesis demonstrates that RPE provides a coherent and practically viable approach to ethics that is both theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded. The framework addresses traditional philosophical problems while offering novel insights into moral responsibility, ethical decision-making under uncertainty, and the nature of moral progress in an unstable world.