Dimmoralité

Dimmoralité is a neologism in ethics and philosophy that designates a form of moral opacity in which actions, intents, or outcomes resist a clear badge of right or wrong. It signals a spectrum between immorality and morality, emphasizing dimness in moral assessment rather than a definitive verdict. The term is used to discuss situations where conventional moral binary divisions fail to capture complexity, such as actions that are harmful in consequence yet justified by perceived duties, or behaviors that are morally ambiguous because of competing loyalties or structural pressures.

The etymology appears to be a portmanteau combining immoralité (immorality) with a prefix suggesting dimness or obscurity. It has circulated in contemporary ethics and critical theory, with early documented uses in essays and debates from the late 20th century onward, without establishing a single authoritative definition.

In practice, dimmorality is used to describe partial culpability or blurred ethics in areas such as state power, corporate responsibility, or social media behavior, where intent and outcome may diverge or where collective action muddies individual accountability. It offers a vocabulary for analyzing cases that resist simple labeling as good or evil.

Critics argue that the term can be vague or rhetorically loaded, potentially conflating legitimate moral uncertainty with a reluctance to assign blame. Proponents contend that it helps articulate nuanced judgments in which traditional categories fail to capture real-world moral complexity.

See also: moral ambiguity, moral relativism, complicity, gray area, moral psychology.