Ordinary Ethics and Reflexivity in Mundane Family Interactions

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines morality as it is experienced in the quotidian running of family life through an analysis of video‐recorded spontaneous family interactions in Los Angeles, California. It argues that certain interactions afford the unfolding of morality experience through reflexive talk, in which speakers “bracket” the ongoing experience in order to critically reflect on it, thus making the ethical known. It demonstrates that often the underlying moral trouble is not immediately apparent and is not necessarily concerned with the momentary details. Instead, the interactional moment incites the speaker to shift to a reflexive stance and address a moral concern. The ubiquitous nature of this moral work exposes the contemporary pressures that parents experience as they negotiate the best ways to parent, raise moral children, and become virtuous families.