Chapter One: Ethics and the Examined Life

Ethics Also called ‘moral philosophy’ Is the philosophical study of morality

Morality Beliefs concerning right and wrong These beliefs can include:  judgments  values  rules  principles  theories

What does ‘doing ethics’ mean? Deliberating about the rightness or wrongness of actions Examining the soundness of your (and other people’s) moral outlook Questioning whether your moral decision-making rests on coherent supporting considerations

The domain of ethics Normative Ethics  the study of the principles, rules, or theories that guide our actions  its purpose is to establish the soundness of moral norms  Considers questions such as “Is happiness the greatest good in life?” or “Should the rightness of actions be judged by their consequences?”

The domain of ethics Metaethics  the study of the meaning and logical structure of moral beliefs  the purpose is to question all of the assumptions that inform normative ethics  considers questions such as “On what grounds can a moral principle be justified?” or “Is there such a thing as moral truth?”

The domain of ethics Applied Ethics  the application of moral norms to specific moral issues or cases  the purpose is to learn something important about the moral characteristics of specific situations, and about the adequacy of moral norms to address those specific situations  considers questions such as “Is physician- assisted suicide morally permissible?” or “Is the consumption of animal flesh morally wrong?”

The Elements of Ethics The Preeminence of Reason: doing ethics involves, even requires, critical reasoning The Universal Perspective: doing ethics requires that moral norms and judgments follow the principle of universalizability--the idea that a moral statement that applies in one situation must apply in all other situations that are relevantly similar The Principle of Impartiality: when doing ethics, the welfare and interests of each individual should be given the same weight as all others The Dominance of Moral Norms: When moral principles or values conflict in some way with nonmoral norms or values, moral considerations override the others

Religion and Morality Whatever your views on religion and morality, an open-minded approach to doing ethics is more useful and empowering than you realize.

Religion and Morality Believers need moral reasoning. Most religious commandments and edicts on ethical issues are at best ambiguous, and at times contradictory. Only by doing ethics--thinking critically about the situation--can religious believers interpret religious directives and try to apply general rules to specific cases.

Religion and Morality When conflicts arise, ethics steps in. Adherents of one religion may disagree with adherents of another religion about an ethical issue. Believers within a religious tradition may disagree with one another, too. Intelligent resolution of the conflict of moral claims can be achieved only by applying a neutral standard. Moral philosophy--the practice of doing ethics-- provides that neutral standard.

Religion and Morality Ethics enables productive discourse. Only with a common set of agreed-upon procedures for deciding issues and making judgments can people from different religious traditions (or people from no religious tradition) talk fruitfully about moral issues. Ethics provides these procedures. When doing ethics: 1. moral positions should be explained 2. claims should be supported by reasons 3. reasoning should be judged by common standards