PART II.

THE ACT

A. Feelings and Moral Decision Making

The Four Moral Emotions

Guilt, Shame, Embarrassment, and Pride Make Societies Work.

One reason emotions are useful is that they get us to react quickly in response to danger.
Although our rational (as opposed to emotional) minds do a lot to keep us at the top of
the food chain, rational thinking is sometimes too slow for handling a threat (e.g. fighting
a tiger). Sometimes, we need to react more quickly--and our emotions, like fear and
surprise, help us do that.

But of course supplying speedy reactions to tigers is not the only use of emotion. In this
light, recent research on emotion has focused not just on issues of an individual's self-
defense, but on the larger social value of emotions. Emotions evolved--the thinking goes-
-not just to protect people, but to bind communities. After all, we all have a better chance
at survival if the species works as a team, rather than battling it out to mutual extinction.
In turn, emotions are useful because they seal a Social Contract, a system of ethics that
protects the species--not just individuals--into the future.

Of course our "hottest" or most animalistic emotions are usually more self-serving than
communal. These animalistic emotions, often called the "basic" emotions, are the
emotions that Paul Ekman famously first labeled in the 1960's, in his work with tribes in
Papua New Guinea. They're the emotions we show on our faces across all cultures, and
they're thought to be biologically determined. We share most of these basic emotions with
animals, and they are often listed as the following six: anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness,
and surprise.

As said, the "basic" emotions help individuals more directly than they help groups. Take
surprise as an example. Surprise is a basic emotion that allows us to avoid what's
unexpected and dangerous. If I turn the corner and bump into a tiger (or my unpaid
landlord or my boss when I'm skipping work), my heartbeat increases and my muscles
tense. I move quickly to avoid the danger. Surprise triggers escape--which is more self-
serving than group-serving. Similar analogies can be made for most of the basic emotions.
But recent research on emotion has shifted the traditional focus away from the "basic"
emotions to another set of emotions which are thought to be more distinctly human. Focus
has turned to the "self-conscious" emotions, which are sometimes also referred to as
"moral," "social," or "higher-order" emotions. These are the emotions that an organism
can only feel if it has a highly developed sense of self-reflection. Usually, the "self-
conscious" emotions are listed as these four: guilt, shame, embarrassment, and pride.

Making Ethical Decisions: A 7-Step Path

Read these 7 steps to help you make ethical distinctions between competing options
when you are faced with a difficult choice.

Making ethical choices requires the ability to make distinctions between competing
options. Here are seven steps to help you make better decisions:

1. Stop and think: This provides several benefits. It prevents rash decisions,
prepares us for more thoughtful discernment, and can allow us to mobilize our
discipline.

2. Clarify goals: Before you choose, clarify your short-term and long-term aims.
Determine which of your many wants and "don't wants" affected by the decision
are the most important. The big danger is that decisions that fullfill immediate
wants and needs can prevent the achievement of our more important life goals.

3. Determine facts: Be sure you have adequate information to support an

intelligent choice. To determine the facts, first resolve what you know, then what
you need to know. Be prepared for additional information and to verify
assumptions and other uncertain information. In addition:
1. Consider the reliability and credibility of the people providing the facts.
2. Consider the basis of the supposed facts. If the person giving you the
information says he or she personally heard or saw something, evaluate
that person in terms of honesty, accuracy, and memory.
 4. Develop options: Once you know what you want to achieve and have made
your best judgment as to the relevant facts, make a list of actions you can take to
accomplish your goals. If it's an especially important decision, talk to someone
you trust so you can broaden your perspective and think of new choices. If you
can think of only one or two choices, you're probably not thinking hard enough.

5. Consider consequences: Filter your choices to determine if any of your options

will violate any core ethical values, and then eliminate any unethical options.
Identify who will be affected by the decision and how the decision is likely to
affect them.

6. Choose: Make a decision. If the choice is not immediately clear, try:

1. Talking to people whose judgment you respect.

2. Think of a person of strong character that you know or know of, and ask
your self what they would do in your situation.
3. If everyone found out about your decision, would you be proud and
comfortable?
4. Follow the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated, and
keep your promises.

7. Monitor and modify: Ethical decision-makers monitor the effects of their

choices. If they are not producing the intended results, or are causing additional
unintended and undesirable results, they re-assess the situation and make new
decisions.

Copyright 2002 Josephson Institute of Ethics

Rules for Making the Right Decisions

By Dr. Carmen Harra

Never underestimate the impact a single decision can have: one wrong move can ruin a
relationship, a career, a life, etc. We must choose wisely to generate joy in our lives. But
when the road forks, confusion suddenly sets in. It's normal to feel bewildered when
different options present different pros and cons. As we advance down the path of life,
sudden shifts require our attention and quick thinking: Should I give this person another
chance? Should I take this job opportunity? Should I invest in a new home? And under
the pressure of making the correct choice, all or none of our choices may even seem
right. Where, then, do we turn for guidance?
Apply these eight rules when weighing your options to ensure that your decisions always
play out in your favor:

1. Pay attention to signs. The first rule asks us to open up to obvious signs. The
universe tries to offer guiding signals that we often miss or neglect if we're not tuned in.
When you do recognize something as a sign, don't dismiss it. Reflect on the potential
message being delivered to you.

2. Take your own advice. If you can't take your own advice, you've learned it in vain.
Our lifelong experiences should fortify our wisdom and clarify our choices. Allow former
events to dictate present decisions: Take a sip from your own fountain of knowledge and
take your own advice.

3. Keep clean your conscience. No decision should stain your spirit. Do your best to
act for the good of everyone, not just for your own good. Decisions that hurt others and
only benefit you will eventually turn against you. When in doubt, consult your moral code.
Keep your conscience clean by making clean choices.

4. Detach from negative emotions. Nothing keeps us stagnant like our own fear,
impatience, and frustration. Moving forward with the right choices means we must
eliminate these emotions. If we weren't afraid of anything, we would act with incredible
courage Always remember this rule of thumb: never make a decision under desperation.

5. Know your influences. We often turn to our friends for guidance when we're confused.
Why do we do this, when the right answers are all within us? When we recognize who
influences us, we can discern whether their advice is causing positive or negative effects.
So ask yourself: To whom am I listening, instead of listening to myself? Remember that
people are naturally biased and flawed because they're dealing with their own dilemmas.
Anyone can offer you their take on what's right but no one can offer you what's right for
you--only you can do that for yourself. Better to go within and find the solutions there.

6. Follow your intuition. In the words of Swiss writer Johann Kaspar Lavater, "Intuition
is the clear conception of the whole at once." Our intuition puts into perspective the
entirety of a situation: it takes us beyond one moment in time and reveals how things will
unfold in the future. The truth is that we already know exactly what we must do and what
will happen, if only we follow our internal GPS. Intuition is what feels right inside, and it
isn't just some "gut feeling;" our instincts can reshape our lives. Following our intuition
helps us realize that we have the power to make the right decisions. Engage your sixth
sense for a heightened perception of what to do and what to avoid. Make one decision
based on your intuition. Allow yourself to be instructed by your inner voice. Note the
difference in results when you overanalyze versus when you intuit your way down the
right path.

7. Don't cross red flags. Just as much as the universe offers signs, it also puts up red
flags. As much as you like someone you've just met, you must heed the warning signs:
are they prone to lying or cheating based on their past relationships? Do they treat others
poorly? Are they egocentric? You must distinguish your need to be with a partner from
your need to be with this partner so as not to proceed beyond a clear boundary of red
flags.

8. Organize your thoughts Positive thoughts turn on the "possibility" switch: when we
think something good can happen, we take the right actions to ensure it comes true.
Introduce new prospect into your life. Write out a situation for which you must make a
decision soon. Put into words the entirety of your thoughts--the good, the bad, and the
ugly. Then, jot down your choices and their potential outcomes. Project what would
happen if you did one thing versus if you did another. Circle the choice that you believe
will lead to your highest good. Organized thoughts lead to wise decisions.

B. Moral Reasoning

Moral reasoning is a thinking process with the objective of determining whether an idea
is right or wrong.
To know whether something is "right" or "wrong" one must first know what that something
is intended to accomplish. Thus, to know if "this direction" is the right direction to follow
to get to a coffee shop, one must first know where one is, where the coffee shop is, and
the terrain between here and there (to avoid blocks, etc).
Or, to know if this action is the right action to take, one must know what one wants to
accomplish, where one is, and the environment between here and the accomplished state
(for example, to impress my boss, I have to know what is likely to impress him/her, what
I, myself, can do at the work-place or where he/she would observe, etc).
Thus, to know if something (an idea, an action, a behavior) is "right" one has to know both
what one intends to accomplish and the environment that exists between "here" and
"there.

Moral reasoning applies critical analysis to specific events to determine what is right or
wrong, and what people ought to do in a particular situation. Both philosophers and
psychologists study moral reasoning.
How we make day-to-day decisions like “What should I wear?” is similar to how we make
moral decisions like “Should I lie or tell the truth?” The brain processes both in generally
the same way.

Moral reasoning typically applies logic and moral theories, such as deontology or
utilitarianism, to specific situations or dilemmas. However, people are not especially good
at moral reasoning. Indeed, the term moral dumbfounding describes the fact that people
often reach strong moral conclusions that they cannot logically defend.

In fact, evidence shows that the moral principle or theory a person chooses to apply is
often, ironically, based on their emotions, not on logic. Their choice is usually influenced
by internal biases or outside pressures, such as the self-serving bias or the desire to
conform.

So, while we likely believe we approach ethical dilemmas logically and rationally, the truth
is our moral reasoning is usually influenced by intuitive, emotional reactions.

C. Moral Courage

"Stand up for what is right even if you stand alone" –Anonymous

Moral courage is the willingness to stand up for and act according to one’s ethical beliefs
when moral principles are threatened, regardless of the perceived or actual risks (such
as stress, anxiety, isolation from colleagues, or threats to employment).

Moral distress occurs when nurses feel powerless to act after witnessing improper
behavior, if organizational constraints make doing the right thing difficult or impossible.
Ultimately, these situations challenge one’s sense of virtue, which involves acting in
accordance with one’s moral and ethical principles.

Moral courage is a virtue and needs to be developed (as does emotional intelligence) to
determine when action is required. Thus, moral courage is linked to virtue ethics, which
emphasizes the role of character rather than doing one’s duty to bring about good
consequences. Virtue ethics appreciates that conflicts occur and that more than just moral
wisdom is needed to ensure a moral outcome.
Developing Will

Will is at the center of who we are. Will is who we are. I am my will. Both spiritual
development and self-development, despite any distinction that might be made between
them, entail the development of will. Indeed, everything we do is done by will. Usually we
think of will in the active sense, of self-control, of working toward and attaining goals. But
there are many natural modes of will: active, receptive, and a synergic combination of
those two. And there are aberrant modes driven by self-centeredness, such as self-will
and identification.

Because will enters all we do and because its many modes all spring from one will,
developing our will provides benefits across all aspects of our life. So we can safely focus
most of our will-development efforts on the active self-regulation and goal-setting aspects.
Nevertheless, the receptive modes still need their own work, to refine and train our will in
opening, equanimity, and letting go.

Will does not operate in a vacuum. To be effective, will must act through the
medium of various inner energies, which provide an interface between our will and our
functions, such as thoughts and physical actions. That is why our will can seem exhausted
at times: the necessary energies get used up. For example, regardless of our best
intentions, our ability to maintain a focus of attention is limited in time. Then we need a
break to replenish the energies used in attention. But the more we exercise our attention,
the greater our access to those energies, and the greater the duration of our powers of
attention. And so it is also with other modes of will.

The fundamental way to develop our will involves setting a goal, working toward
that goal, and monitoring our progress. Each of these steps requires skill and intelligence.

The first hurdle in setting a goal is to choose wisely. In most cases it should be
unambiguous and attainable. Our goal needs to be defined clearly enough to enable us
to monitor our progress and our attainment of it. Without that self-feedback we cannot
truly exercise our will. Another major issue is the degree of difficulty. The goal or task
should be something within our power and the right size. If the task is too big, we will fail.
If too easy, it does not exercise our will. Our experimentation with this dimension of
difficulty helps us understand our own capacities and limitations, helps us see why we
need to develop our will. Also, the goal or task should not depend on any other person.
We cannot control other people and making our will exercise contingent on their
cooperation or action may well put us on a course toward failure.

We have the further choice of time scale. The goal or task may only be concerned
with something immediate and brief: an ad hoc, short-term effort like maintaining self-
awareness for the next ten steps while you are walking, maintaining your attention for the
remainder of a lecture, or keeping your anger in check while dealing with a difficult person.
We also work with goals and tasks lasting a day, a week, or some longer period. The
biblical forty days is a typical time-period for more serious undertakings.

Finally, we set the goal and commit ourselves to carry it out. Without this step, it
all remains too vague, leaving our will to languish in a kind of limbo. We often have
thoughts such as “I’d like to that” or “I should do that.” But random intentions do not rise
to the level of organized, effective will. For that we need to choose consciously and then
agree with ourselves that we will carry out what we have chosen to do. Without that inner
assent, that agreement to commit ourselves to a particular course of action, our will is
never set on the task. Since no decision has been made, we cannot count on fulfilling it.