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Systematic Moral Analysis: Some Approaches. Professional Ethics. Moral problems are complicated. Issues arise in diverse contexts Perception and identification is often difficult It’s impossible to be completely objective Different value and interest complexes compete for primacy
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Systematic Moral Analysis: Some Approaches Professional Ethics
Moral problems are complicated • Issues arise in diverse contexts • Perception and identification is often difficult • It’s impossible to be completely objective • Different value and interest complexes compete for primacy • Issues tend toward gray rather than black or white • Real problems mean real winners and losers
So, what do we do? • Flip a coin? • Give up? • Do what feels right? • Do what our parents taught us to do? • Follow the Golden Rule? • What?
Criticality requires imposition of rational, principled system and order • The best we can do is to devise an orderly system with which to engage dilemmas • The system should be open-ended and capable of adapting to obvious weaknesses—it should be a learning systems • Where do we begin?
What kind of systems have professional ethicists suggested? • Day • Bivins • Allen & Voss
Moral Decision Making (Day) Situation Definition • Description of facts • Identification of principles and values • Statement of ethical issues or questions Analysis • Weighing of competing principles and values • Consideration of external factors • Examination of duties to various parties • Discussion of applicable ethical theories Decision • Rendering of moral agent’s decision • Defense of that decision based on moral theory Source: Day (2000), pp. 64-73
Moral Decision Making (Bivins) • What is the issue? • What are the immediate relevant facts? • Who are the claimants? How are you obligated to them? • What are the claimants preferences? • List three alternative courses of action • Run the moral gauntlet • Determine course of action • Justify your decision to your most adamant detractor http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~tbivins/J397/LINKS/WORKSHEET/Worksheet.html
Value Analysis (Allen & Voss) • Define the issue & identify stakeholders • Determine the stakeholders’ interests • Identify all the relevant values that bear on the issue • Determine the values and interests in conflict • Apply a model to rank the values according to importance; weigh the values and interests in conflict • Resolve the conflict in favor of the higher (more important) value