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THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES. CH. 9, CHAFFEE. MORAL COMPASS: THE THINKER’S GUIDE TO MORAL DECISION-MAKING. 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

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THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES

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  1. THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT MORAL ISSUES CH. 9, CHAFFEE

  2. MORAL COMPASS: THE THINKER’S GUIDE TO MORAL DECISION-MAKING • 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

  3. MORAL COMPONENT? • 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.

  4. Moral component? • 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

  5. Ethics and morals • 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 • Right vs. wrong • Just vs. unjust • Good vs. bad • Fair vs. unfair • Responsible vs. irresponsible

  6. Ethics & morals & value • 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

  7. activity • 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.

  8. Become a philos0pher of values • 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

  9. What are my moral values? • 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?

  10. Evaluate your values • Clearly articulated • Well-grounded? • Ill defined? • Tenuously rooted? • Coherent whole, consistent with one another? • Fragmentation and inconsistency? • source?

  11. Moral theories • 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

  12. Analyzing moral dilemmas • 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.

  13. Thinker’s guide to moral decision-making • 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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