Transcript thinking critically about moral issues

CH. 9, CHAFFEE
 MAKE
MORALITY A PRIORITY
 DISCOVER THE “NATURAL LAW”
 CONSIDER THE ETHIC OF CARE
 DEVELOP AN INFORMED INTUITION
 ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
 CHOOSE TO BE A MORAL PERSON
 CONSIDER THE ETHIC OF JUSTICE
 PROMOTE HAPPINESS
 JUSTIFY MORAL JUDGMENTS
 You
consider purchasing a research paper
from an online service, and you plan to
customize and submit the paper as your own.
 A friend of yours has clearly had too much to
drink at a party, yet he’s insisting that he
feels sober enough to drive home.
 The romantic partner of a friend of yours
begins flirting with you.
 You and several others were involved in a
major mistake at work, and your supervisor
asks you to name the people responsible.
 Treatment
of other people or animals.
 Not a clear right vs. wrong answer
 Positive and negative consequences to
oneself or others
 Guided by values to which you are
committed and that reflect a moral
reasoning process that leads to the decision
 Concept of moral responsibility
 Principles
that govern our relationships with
other people
 The ways we ought to behave
 The rules and standards that we should
employ in the choices we make
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Right vs. wrong
Just vs. unjust
Good vs. bad
Fair vs. unfair
Responsible vs. irresponsible
 Greek
word “ethos”: moral purpose or
character
 Cultural customs or habits
 Latin
word “moralis’: custom
 Private and public nature of the moral life
 Social context of cultural customs
 Possessing
intrinsic worth that we prize,
esteem and regard highly based on clearly
defined standards
 Think
of someone you know whom you
consider to be a person of outstanding moral
character. Fix this person in your mind and
write down this person’s qualities that
qualify him/her as a morally upright
individual.
 Compare
your idea of a moral person with
that of your partner’s.
 Think
deeply and clearly about these
profound moral issues
 Study the efforts of great thinkers through
the ages
 Discuss these concepts with others in a
disciplined and open-minded way
 Construct a coherent ethical approach
grounded on sound reasons and commitment
to truth
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Do we have a moral responsibility toward less fortunate
people?
Is it wrong to divulge a secret that someone has confided
in you?
Should we eat meat? Should we wear animal skins?
Should we try to keep people alive at all costs, no matter
what their physical or mental condition?
Is it wrong to kill someone in self-defense?
Should people be given equal opportunities, regardless of
race, religion, or gender?
Should you ‘bend the rules’ to advance your career?
Is it alright to manipulate people into doing what you want
if you believe it’s for their own good?
Is there anything wrong with pornography?
Should we always try to take other people’s needs into
consideration when we act or should we first make sure
that our own needs are taken care of?
Should we experiment with animals to improve the quality
of our lives?
 Clearly
articulated
 Well-grounded?
 Ill defined?
 Tenuously rooted?
 Coherent whole, consistent with one
another?
 Fragmentation and inconsistency?
 source?
I would follow my conscience (the part of our
mind formed by internalizing the moral values
we were raised with)
 I do not know what I would do: a morally
agnostic theory of morality
 I would do whatever would improve my own
situation: pragmatic theory of morality
 I would do what God or the scriptures say is
right: a theist theory of morality
 I would do whatever made me happy: hedonist
moral theory
 I would follow the advice of an authority:
authoritarian moral theory
 I would do what is best for everyone involved:
altruistic moral theory
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 Describe
the decision that you would make in
this situation and explain why
 Identify the moral value(s) or principles(s) on
which you based your decision.
 At the conclusion of the activity, compare
the moral values that you used. Consistent?
 Describe your general conclusions about your
own moral compass.
Make morality a priority
 Recognize that a critical-thinking approach to
ethics is based on reason
 Include the ethic of justice in your moral
compass
 Include the ethic of care in your moral compass
 Accept responsibility for your moral choices
 Seek to promote happiness for oneself and
others
 Seek to develop an informed intuition
 Discover the “natural law” of human nature
 Choose to be a moral person
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