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Intimations of morality
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The Strengths and Weaknesses of Intuitionism
Intuitionism came about as a post-utilitarian perspective, and was
largely developed as an ethical theory by Moore, Pritchard and Ross.
As the name of the theory tells us it is concerned with humans
intuition, Sidgwick came to the conclusion that ethics was not based
on a unifying principle but rather on human intuition. Today, an
intuitionist is thought of as someone who holds particular views about
the way in which we come to find out what actions are right and which
are wrong. Apparently, we group basic moral principles because of our
‘intuition’. Moral principles are capable of being true and known
through a special faculty; ‘moral intuition’. W.D. Ross and Pritchard,
claimed that they are ‘facts’ about what is morally right and wrong
and that our understanding of these is sufficient to deserve the title
‘knowledge’. We know that something is good by intuition: it is
self-evident, “good is something known directly by intuitionism”[1]
G. E. Moore wrote that what is good, or morally good, cannot be
defined by humans, just as yellow also cannot. We all know what yellow
is in sensory terms but the only way to describe yellow is to use
other colours which does not help someone who is colour blind, “Good
can be defined no more successfully than yellow.”[2] However, we know
instantly what yellow is, and we know instinctively what is morally
good; they are both self-evident to us. Moore thought that what makes
an action good or otherwise are the aims of the person in question
when carrying out that action. Moore then went on to make a
distinction between the aims and the consequences of an action: the
aims are decided intuitively before the action and determine its moral
nature. The consequences are determined retrospectively, therefore not
determining morality.
Harold Arthur Pritchard developed Moore’s ideas further, he thought
that “moral obligation just is, and it can be perceived by our
intuition.” This means that moral obligation is something that a
person could just know, it was not quite the same as feeling certain
Ethics is “a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of questions of right and wrong and how we ought to live” (Banks, 2013). Also it involves making moral judgments about what is right and or wrong, good or bad. In the process of everyday life, moral rules are desirable, not because they express absolute truth, but because they are generally reliable guides for normal circumstances. Ethics or moral conduct, are of major importance in the criminal justice field today. If the police force condoned unethical behavior, there would be very little, if any, justice being served. A system of rules and principles helps to guide in making difficult decisions when moral issues arise. Ethics has been shown to be a central component in decisions involving ethical dilemmas. It is “concerned with standards of conduct and with “how I ought to act”, and standards of conduct may vary among different societies” (Banks, 2013). An ethical dilemma arises only when a decision must be made that involves a conflict at the personal, interpersonal, institutional, or societal level or raises issues of moral character. Richard Hare argues that we initially use an intuitive level of moral thinking when we consider ethical dilemma. There are “six steps in analyzing an ethical dilemma and they would be as follow” (NASW, 2014):
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, a Jewish rabbi, wrote extensively about many topics. Luzzatto’s writings can be applied to us today and from which we can learn a great deal. Two of the topics that we discussed in seminar that Luzzatto addresses were vigilance and alacrity. Vigilance is the process of regarding someone's actions and affairs and about knowing if your actions are right or wrong. In order to be vigilant, two parts are necessary. The first part involves determining what is considered evil and what is good. By doing this, you can make the right decision and do the right thing. The second part is to “see if his own deeds are good or evil,” which means that you have to decide if your actions were good or evil. This applies at
Rationalism and empiricism were two philosophical schools in the 17th and 18th centuries, that were expressing opposite views on some subjects, including knowledge. While the debate between the rationalist and empiricist schools did not have any relationship to the study of psychology at the time, it has contributed greatly to facilitating the possibility of establishing the discipline of Psychology. This essay will describe the empiricist and rationalist debate, and will relate this debate to the history of psychology.
The Intuitionist, a novel written by Colson Whitehead, illustrates many aspects of society through the parody of a detective novel. Since elevator inspectors have no detective talents, the idea is just a cover, underneath which lies a myriad of the author's opinions on society. The book, published only in the year nineteen-ninety-nine, is filled with miniscule clues that pilot one toward substantial metaphors. Among these are racism, politics, one's place in society, and so on and so forth. This novel is an ocean of allegories in its youth, its depths waiting to be explored.
end product of moral reasoning is a particular behavior, and as a person learns or completes a
In book one, the first idea that is discussed is the issue of what is considered right and wrong and it's meaning in the universe we live in. In our every day lives there are occasions that arise when we must decipher between what is right and wrong, but where did these rules or laws to follow come about from? In a situation where there are two people quarrelling on a specific matter, how can one know for sure which of the two is right or wrong...
What is ethics? Ethics are the philosophical principles of good verses bad moral behavior. It is a guideline to help people make decisions or make a judgment calls. There are two main types of ethical principles that will be discussed in this paper, and how they are applied to the decision making process. They are Deontological and Utilitarian. Deontological ethics are based on the righteousness or wrongness of the action-taking place. It does not base itself on the bad or good consequences that come from the action. Immanuel Kant introduced deontological ethics in the 18th century. Kant believed that every decision or action made by a person had to be evaluated by his or her moral duty. He stated that humanity shouldn’t side on its
How often should an individual be confronted with those three words in a lifetime? What makes them pick one or the other? Is the right decision dependably fundamentally the ethical decision? Who chooses what is correct or off-base? These are every single significant question in this battling issue in life. Could the confidence in karma be sufficient for one to lead a "decent" moral presence? The finger is constantly pointed towards one 's self interest and one 's result of their choices. In Thomas Nagel 's paper, Right and Wrong, Nagel endeavors to clarify the distinctions and the contemplations behind good and bad choices. He makes references to individual advantages, religion, and disciplines of choice making. Nagel 's paper really characterizes manners of thinking and how individuals come to choose life decisions and pathways for their
Morals. Right and wrong. This is what we as everyday human beings struggle with every day. And we aren’t the only ones. Modern day philosophers study this day in and day out, especially those who study metaethics. Metaethics is the study of the foundation of ethics, what it means to be moral. Within metaethics there are three main moral beliefs that are constantly being debated between; moral realism, moral relativism, and moral skepticism. I believe that moral skepticism is the most reasonable standpoint on morality because while morals do exist, they are completely subjective. A person 's sense of morality depends on how they were raised, what they were taught to believe, who they surround themselves with and their personal experiences. After
There are many essays, papers and books written on the concept of right and wrong. Philosophers have theorized about moral actions for eons, one such philosopher is John Stuart Mill. In his book Utilitarianism he tries to improve on the theories of utilitarianism from previous philosophers, as he is a strong believer himself in the theory. In Mill's book he presents the ideology that there is another branch on the utilitarian tree. This branch being called rule-utilitarianism. Mill makes a distinction between two different types of utilitarianism; act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism. Rule-utilitarianism seems like a major advance over the simple theory of act-utilitarianism. But for all its added complexity, it may not actually be a significant improvement. This is proven when looking at the flaws in act-utilitarianism and relating them to the ways in which rule-utilitarianism tries to overcome them. As well one must look at the obstacles that rule-utilitarianism has on it's own as a theory. The problems of both act and rule utilitarianism consist of being too permissive and being able to justify any crime, not being able to predict the outcomes of one's actions, non-universality and the lose of freewill.
...ecision making process that takes place when ethical dilemmas arise, but that it also seems refreshing as it takes us back to a time when society knew right from wrong and chose right. However, we also feel that beings capable of reason do not, as a whole, follow inherent duties. They are not always subject to imperatives which push them to act in the correct manner regardless of personal gain, or in the appropriate manner for personal gain.
For many years now, people have always wondered what ethical principle is the right one to follow. These individuals are all seeking the answer to the question that the ethical principles are trying to clarify: What defines moral behavior? The Divine Command Theory and the theories of cultural relativism are two principles of many out there that provide us with explanations on what our ethical decisions are based on and what we consider to be our moral compass in life. Even though these two theories make well-supported arguments on why they are the right principle to follow, it is hard to pinpoint which one should guide our choices because of the wide array of ethical systems. Therefore, what is morally right or wrong differs greatly depending
Ethics is the study of values and how right and wrong action is defined (Cooper, 1998).
No decision procedure – moral decision making is too complicated to have a single criterion for decision
The distinction between doing and allowing can be made, but the moral applications of it vary based on the situation to which they are applied. It can be argued, though, that when doing and allowing both bring about the same consequence, there is no moral difference in which action is chosen. Even though many different distinctions can be made between how doing and allowing bring about different sequences, they both bring about the same means; therefore, logical reasoning and a level head must be used to evaluate the right course of action.