CHAPTER SEVEN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND DECISION-MAKING INTRODUCTION processes, Also, acting rightly or wrongly can be dependent on moral or legal principles and so there is SECTION ONE Human Conduct and Human Nature ‘We will begin by defining some terms and concepts. This will enable you to understand what these concepts and terms mean when we Mention them in our study. We are also going to explain what goes into human decision-making Process and how it affects ‘human conduct. To from the thinking and feeling, The Nature of Human Conduct and Decision-making Taking decisions are part of our daily activites as human beings. Every human being one Way or the other takes a decision to perform a certain action before sunset. These decisions responsible for the manner in which we conduct Ourselves. It must be noted that these decisions can either be our personal one, for a group, a society or family. For instance, we ‘ake personal decisions such as the food to eat, where to go at a Particular time, what clothes 10 Wear, ete, There are other more Complex questions that we attempt to answer from time to time. For example, what is Sood for man?, how should I live?, what is the good life?, ete Taylor (1970) observes that before we can answer such difficult questions, we need to know who we 87her words, before we can know what is good for us, we need to know OUrselyeg ae ies noted 1 have sid that _man know thyself”. Without knowing = ae as know what is good, how we should live, and what the good life is. 1 a enough for one to know that she is a woman with arms, lees, head, Se, who is endowed wig, certain aspirations and ideals. One needs to know what kind of being she is, the source of he, aspirations and ideals, etc. ; Human beings take devisions and act by those decisions for several reasons, 1}, means that there is @ motivation for every human action. Practical reasoning teaches us hy human beings must consider the various motivations to a particular action before decision, making. It is said that _no thought arises out of a vacuum’, therefore there is a reason or cause for every human conduct. There are two perspectives that inform human conduct and decision-making, They are; the consequences of performing or not performing the action and the rules as motive behind the action. In other words, either action is motivated by the motive or by the consequences, Rules as Motive Practical reasoning demands that we know the right way of justifying particular actions. When actions are said to be justified by the motive, it means that particular action appeals to principles or rules. This perspective is backward-looking. That is, it looks at the sand decision-making, The import here is that, as humans, we are mostly inclined to do wh what we should do, Because of thi ly. That is why the best justification of our actions ‘must be rules and principles, Consequences as Motive The second perspective for justifying iy results of the action,my stealing to justify whether the action is right or Wrong. Scholars such John ” omen’ as John Stuart Jeremy Bentham and George Edward Moore aj admonish that actions and i justified by the end results, Conducts be There are differences about who the Consequences of our actions should satisfy. That is, i¢ lat is, if | choose a particular action over another, whose interest ‘must the action serve in order for the for the individual who performs the action. Such People are called eyoists, Others also think that it should satisfy the majority of people who are affected by the action, Such people are called utltarians. Again, when an action is supposed to fully satisty others and not the individual, then such proponents will be called altruists, Conceptual Clarifications in Practical Reasoning To better understand human nature, conduct and how to engage in practical Teasoning, it is important that we understand some of the concepts that are used in this regard. Maxim: this isa personal principle or rule that an individual Uses in decision-making. Every human being has a subjective principle which determines his or her choices. For instance, as 4 personal principle some people do not éat outside of their home, others make it a point to Sel everyone they meet, whilst some wear some particule clothes like African wear always, We mostly develop these maxims from the environment where we grew up. Value judgment: this is a subjective evaluation of a person, object, concept ot @ situation, "Or instance, agg student you can place a value judgment on how I teach, as to whether it is ‘od or bad. Thus the personal assessment we make of persons and other things to determine Whether they are good or bad, right or wrong. As humans, we place value judgment on our “parents, pastors, od we eat, clothes we wear, etc, Understanding value judgment seu to think critically about people and objects. i ly people and objects va eg, 800d: it is also called the summum bonum in Latin, It is the oa “004 t0 which all our actions aim to achieve. In other words, every action is geare “certain end, The Purpose of every human decision is to achieve a certain purpose, hig : ae nse, thest wood is the Purpose that all actions hope to achieve. According to Ari 89e st happine: jaimonia). Other philosophers call the highest goog the highest good is happiness (cudaimonia). Other phil 20 ighes pleasure, self-interest, good will, ete. sure, / Moral agent: this is a person who has the capability to act in accordance with what is ral agent: and wrong, Here, not every human being is a moral agent. For instance, mad people children are not seen as moral agents. Rather, humans who are possessed with reason have knowledge of what is right and wrong are considered as moral agents. Human nature In practical reasoning, there ate some categories of living species that are important to distinguish, First of all, we do not aseribe practical reasoning and thinking to animals, This is because we see them as purely sensual beings who are subject to causal determination, Because of this, we do not fault the lion for killing the antelope even tho ugh they are both animals. Secondly, there is the Supreme Being who is seen as 4 purely rational being whose action is perfectly in accord with reason. This makes Him infalli ible. The third category is human being wi ho lies between animals and the Supreme Being as indicated above. As human beings, we are therefore both sensual and intellectual This means that we are neither wholly determined to perform actions based on natural impulse like animals nor on the strength of “eason like the Supreme Being. Thus we are both thinking and feeling beings. Our composition of reason and emotion forms the bases of our choices, actions, conducts and decision-making, Human activities are therefore rooted in our eo, mposition as rational and emotional beings. Humans as Rational Beings Aristotle described humans as rational animals Decision-making as a daily activity encompasses every aspect of human endeavour Ordinavily, most of us will not deny that in making decisions we employ the act of thinking. This means that choices are dependent on how we process our thoughts on the available options. Many philosophers such as Plato and have emphasized that decision making is dependent on rational process. Human beings are conceived as possessing the capacity to 1 hink through their actions before they make decisi ms. According to Scheff (1992), there is a shift from the requirement that human q beings should act according to reason to the Statement that human beings actually #' F : 5 ; the of their actions before Proceeding to perform them. In this vein, philosophers prefer to use ‘erm _rational decision-making* to “decision-making? 90ality a a notion isa thought process or mental aetivity. It is conceived in many forms Ral or senses. There is the categc perform certain actions based on specific reasons. For instance, opening a door for a child, Also, when people explain their behaviour based on certain values and norms. For instance, the behaviour of someone who helps an elderly person cross the street can offer rational explanations for that behaviour. There are also the distinctions of rational actions that humans -* perform. They are as follows; 1. Epistemic rationality: the goal of thi to reach the truth and avoid falsity. With this, hhuman beings acquire knowledge that cannot be doubted only through reason, In other words, all that we claim to know, such as tables, buildings, fiends (as Persons), ete, are dependent on reason. Knowledge is acquired through the process of mental activities, Strategic rationality: this concerns applying reason to setting goals, desires and choices, 3, Practical rationality: this involves the individual actions that answer questions such 4 what should T do and what isthe good life. Here the moral agent poes through a decision-making process and apply reason to choose the best option among available altematives. The individual, in this instance, may choose the action that maximizes utility, serves egoistic purposes or altruistic purpose. Rene Descartes, a 17th century philosopher, is noted to have said, eogito ergo sum: translated as “I think therefore I am’. This further establishes that thinking is associated with humans as far as arriving at certain knowledge and decision-making. Humans as Emotional Beings As thinking beings, humans are also considered as feeling beings as well. As a result of this, motions are also seen as playing an important role in decision-making. According to de Souza (2007), emotions have a significant place in actions, Emotions are sometimes called Feelings and itis expressed in several forms, such as anger, trust, hate, love, panic, grief, ete, Damasio used ease studies to prove the central role of emotions in human life. Phineas Gage’s case Phineas was an American construction worker who had severe injuries when blasting a rock ingly 11848. The rock blasting resulted in an iron pole penetrating through his head, Surpr However, he survived. However, his behaviour totaly changed. Before the accident, he was ived his nsidered as caring, hardworking, diligent and very patient. After the surgery that s 31life, he became an unreliable person, always forgetting things, impatient and incapable o¢ following orders. This behaviour made it difficult for people to relate with him. Again, it was almost impossible to rely on him for effective decision-making. This observation is opposed 10 the traditional philosophical position popularized by Plato, Kant and Descartes that in the process of rational decision-making, emotions are a hindrance 10 clear thinking. The case study leq Damasio (1999) to conclude that one vital aspect of decision-making process is the comparison of potential alternatives with feelings and emotions from past situations. Again, decision-making process involves results assessments, which are influenced by social emotion. This phenomenon makes emotions pivotal in human behaviour. Furthermore, Hume (2001) averred that reason is and must always be a slave of the Passion, This is because moral judgments are the motivations for performing one action over the other. However, these judgments are not discovered by reason because what reason discovers are truth and facts which are not motivation for actions, Thus truth only discovers matters of fact and relation of ideas, Moral truths are discovered by _moral sense‘which is a peculiar capacity to feel. This makes questions such as what is good for man be discoverable through emotions. From this position, we infer that decision making is motivated by emotions. Thus every choice that we make, emotion plays a primary role. This goes on to further support the view that humans are thinking beings as well. RATIONALISM VRS VOLUNTARISM Here, we are going to explain into detail how our feelings and thought or sense of reason affect the choices that we make. We will also examine the question of what it means to say of an object that is good. I will entreat you to have it at the back of your mind that we are talking about human choices and decision-making in our practical life, Ok? The idea of what is good ‘When we say of something that itis good, we can get many deceptions and attribution to thet thing, One major attribute to something being good is its function. In other words, something 's considered good when it is considered as useful, In other words, it is seen as good when that thing efficiently performs its functions. This perception was popularized in Greek thought during the time of Socrates, Indeed, it is still the basic idea of goodness in every aspect of our practical life today. For instance, a good pilot is the one who guides her airplane 92well to the place of its destination, Likewise, 4 800d knify e function for knives, Ue is the one that ef tells us the time always, How will we answer now when we are from our examples above, the functions of a person, of humans? This Wuestion is differey ¥ Be informed by our desie to acquire “Sah promotion at work. Thus What we wish to achieve affects how we behave, Can we . However the ability to achieve Ymake a man good. Such prescription will only fit for when the man 'Sconcejy . ect "eeived within a Certain profession. For instance, a 800d driver, pilot, nurse, farmer etc. i thetefone i “lore means that the best way of ensuring the question of who a good man is still refers lothe f ; ‘inction of the man. This then leads us to the question that we asked earlier, what is the fin Son Ore of ma n- simply as @ man? Ancient scholars were faced with this question. It Wag Snceived in anotl her sense as “what is distinctive of men, simply as men? In other 93 | |ve will look at the things that differentiate words, instead of assessing the functions of a man, we ‘men (humans) from the rest of nature se vnc 67 notes no At this pont, we are going to look atthe Cw Amethyst oa answer the question “what distinguishes men from the rest o! cae es, virtue is important in distinguishing man from others. ae ce is achieved through wisdom, the exercise of intelligence and thought. Plato also maintained that those who are able to use reason and act in the light of reason are seen as the best men in the world. These are the men he called philosopher kings because they deserve to rule. Additionally, Aristotle observed that a good man is the one who lives a life guided by thought and reason. It is a man who lives a life of virtue and develops character from the concept of the golden mean, The Stoies also emphasized this that virtue and reason are inseparable, The positions we have talked about establish that the distinctive feature of man is his use of reason, This means that human are rational animals. It is the exercise of reason that distinguishes them from other creatures. Thus, @ good man is also a rational man, Here, virtue means the exercise of reason and vice versa means the corruption of reason, However, there are others who have attacked the position that humans act rationally and that is what makes them distinct. Some are of the view that desire, Will, passions are the bases for human action. Philosophers such as William James, David Hi lume, Arthur Schopenhauer, Thomas Hobbes, ete, are of the view that feelings play more roles in human actions, Notwithstanding the disagreements, we observe that to describe a man as rational but without 8oodness, or as noble and good but bereft of reason would ‘seem to most men today as absurd The Summum Bonum (Highest Good) The choices and decisions that humans make are diverse, Humans are sometimes overwhelmed by the complexity of the decision to be taken, For instance, in the state of er, We act spontaneously. We take certain decisions The effects of our decisions without giving it a deeper thought. at that moment stare back at us when the anger has gone down. Because of situations like this, there have € been theories and rules that are seen as measurine rod for our actions. Acting i n accordance with stated rules and regulations to determine the Summum Bonum. This is als? called the Highest Good. It is defined as the only i fication of thing that is good without qualification the principle that is unconditionally S00d. The highest good has certain characteristics:Intrinsic goodness: this Means thing to be good, At are our wants and do our best to get them. This is Cifferem fiom saying that we *ason or think. Thus, we see humans s represented in the illustration below; 95Pe Pace nan bly ws a al Th tro ay, sholees, decisions, ete, are guided by reason, According to moral rationalism itis man reason that sees what is good and then directs the will to the attainment of the good, We a see things with our eyes but we cannot see that they are good. We can only determine ite they are good through our reason. This is done through the “eye of the mind” Which is the means by wi hich we sce rational things that are not part of physical nature. In Mora ‘atlonalism therefore, i isthe reason that dominates the will. Thus, man is a kind of being ‘who is endowed with reason and uses it o discem between good and evil. We eare capable of being moral agents because we possess reason. A good or rational agent is the one whose reason governs his will. With rationalism therefore, the will is always subordinated to the Teason. When the appetite or the will controls reason, } Fationalists consider it as a vice, The tationalist position is illustrated below: Basten wai th FIGURE 2: MORAL RATIONALISM. Many people generally believe that their actions emanate from reason, Thus we all assume ‘onal. AS a result we can also give rational justification for our action Indeed, the fact that we normally ask people to justify their choices, decisions and behaviors #s an indication that their actions have rational bases. This is the position of morel rationalism. Moral Voluntarism : ions of According to this view, itis only because humans have a will that is why any distinetions : good, bu! £ood and evil ever arise in the first place, In other words, certain things are seen as good, ends ‘nts, inclinations. If we do not pursue any > g. Wil cvil, ete. because we have desires, passions, w there will be nothing like a distinction between good and evil or right and wron 96 od A lidesite, inclination are what Makes 85 i tO help find the Teason is seen product of our will. This is why, of nature. FIGURE 3; Reflections The rationalists and voluntarists‘ views are not out of place when we carefully examine fuman behaviour, Indeed, reason and desire or will are conceived as the basic aspect of “rthen, reason only comes in to help the will on how a desired object can be realized, The basic feature oF humar r desire. TI Nas good or evil simply “ture of human nature is will o desire. Things are seen as gi 'ause we develop desires, wants and will towards the object, 97TION TWO Morality and Conscience In this section we are going to learn about morality and the use of conscience, Today, man in zs ig people have recognized that conscience plays a major role in moral life. However, there ate and conscience. We are Aoing to learn about common sense morality which establishes th. others who fail to understand the relationship between morali at certain behaviours that ane considered as right are not imposed by anyone on an individual. We will also look at the role of conscience in guiding human behavior. Also, we will learn about the m ain theories that tl us about actions that are considered moral or good. Common-sense morality This thought was developed in the 18th Century. Generally, Possesses moral knowledge and has inner other words, it refers to the idea that everyone (innate) ability to abide by such knowledge, tn » religious doctrines and other theories do not actually offer us ready Snswer. [tis at this point that common-sense morality becomes 'Y does not make use laid down rules and procedure, Rather, it makes us act based on the situation and the circumstance at hand. ‘We must note that common-sense morality is what w © call agent-relative, By this, moral obligations apply to moral agents depending on the circumstance, Here, the individual must For instance, Whilst you are crossing a bridge, When you save the child, watch, What will you do in that instance, choosing between saving the child and saving the watch? be seen to be directly involved in an action, you see a child drowning in a lake you will spoil you I million Cedis , s s Common-sense morality will OPt 0 save the child at that moment. Consider this scenario well. You read i le an advert in the Dailies that people with valuable properties that are movabl ‘and donate the money to cha ‘watch immediately? This instance will no should sell - edis worth of ‘ty. Will you go sell your 1 million Cedis worth A This ' get your immediate response as the first one 98 4means that comm ON-sens, em ity j. the situation Srality is heavily q ‘pend lent on di rect ingi individ, ual inyg Moral theories: The yj 10 beha cories: The right wa When people are told that as ; 4.2.1, -Egois;eo being, The use of eonscienee is from the background that tightness ang inside of every human being, The s of actions are within every individual. ee tear pner oee tight or wrong. Rather, we behave wrongly, ‘e do not need rules to u w ner authority that tells us that we have done the wrong thing. Consciengg wwe have our inner authority : on two principles: the principle of freedom and the principle of knowledge of i operates on 1 ciples; good. ~ Principle of freedom: conscience operates on humans who are free to act, For instance, if Your conscience will not dictate to you, This ess. you are a prisoner and you only take orders, means that without freedom, conscience is usel ~ Principle of knowing the good: here also, conscience im; lies that we know of what is ood. If an individual does not know of what is good or bad, then there will We must note however that, rational m the good from the bad. be no role for conscience to play oral agents ate seen as knowing complex set of feelings that prevents us from doing wrong. We must here. Conscience is not the same as emotions, however be cautious In fact, emotions are associated with we exhibit sadness and guilt which Feelings are the same as conscience, Rather, itis Conscience which is producing the feeling, Conscience normally operates when the action has already been done. Most times, when we Moral punishment and conscience Normally, when we break rules, we ©xpect caution or sometimes punishment, For instance, if We ate told not to steal and we do, the cre must be punishment for that action. In morality, some scholars are of the vi 100Itis important to note that if we accept that humans are free to choose, then we should also accept that humans must take responsibility for their actions. Remember we have already said - that conscience operates under the principle of freedom. This means that praise and blame is given to the moral agent. Therefore, the conception of conscience as the moral judge is against the background that moral agents are fully responsible for their actions and inactions, 101CHAPTER EIGHT PRACTICAL REASONING AND CHOICE INTRODUCTION We always sce certain things and behaviours as good or bad. To understand how practical Teasoning works, we are going to explain good and bad behaviours (value judgmens) using moral and legal reasoning. Also, we will use aesthetic reasoning to answer questions such as ‘why do we say that a person is beautiful‘? In the end you will be able to understand better the practical aspect of critical thinking as it affects our daily lives. SECTION ONE Legal Reasoning Here, we are going to learn about legal reasoning, In a society, there are rules and laws. Some of these rules and laws are written down, Others are considered as conventions or normal Practices that have gained general acceptability. One may think that it is only lawyers and Judges who need to know about legal reasoning. This is not so at all. Practical reasoning demands that we also understand the bases of laws, how laws are applied, interpreted and What goes into reasoning legally. So you see, itis part of developing our critical reasoning so that we can understand how society is managed and how laws are used to regulate human Conduct. As a result of this, we are going to lear about how laws ate justified, interpreted and applied, What is legal reasoning? Iris the particular method of arguing among legal persons (sometimes lawyers) whereby {egal rules are applied to particular situations to prove their point. The basic pattern of legal reasoning is by using examples. This is also known as reasoning from case to case. Reasoning by example shows the decisive role which the common ideas ofthe society as well as the distinctions made by experts can have sloping the law. Generally therefore when we say of a person that he/she is reasoning legally, we mean that the law is being used with reference to other examples to either validate or invalidate the earring issues. or Legal is_also conceive: gonclusions in deciding eases, Sinee laws generally are as a system of codified rules, reasoning legally is also seen as a mental process by wl the intel} ‘trines are rationally and consistently justified, Thus broadly, the seasoning that ig wed in legal activities suchas 102‘N In egal studies, certain questions are ¢ s, what the law should be, what Procedures leis and how it should be applied are very i how laws can be justified. Just as Providi the law when that particular law forbids us f SrBUMeNtS and reasong Het establish the goodness, value or “ScePtability of the law, We Should note that laws are meanlt0 achieve some purposes They are used to regulate i society. Without Jaws, and an au ment that can be used to make the same These bases can be used to 'y laws such aS murder, thefi, assault etc, Harm Principle: this is when actions are forbidden and considered illegal because Potforming that action can cause harm to others. Here, the argument for permissible harm * lWstfied. Thig one cannot cause harm to others for any reason whatsoever. 5 Laat h er n from : it is the view that laws can be justified if it Prevents a person : self will ‘binvherselp. This means that if one causes if even causing harm to oni“judd A\rwealev mets ete. ate al ing seat belts, hel ¥ hat moment. Again, wearing cems it fit at that m if the person deems i Sve cause they are basical ES ce pact ‘hen law forbids certain actions bet basically: ci this is wi 4. Offense principle: 1 oreo ec! For instar 1 of another country. 4, fc stance, burning the national flag considered as offensive. For i : a ie principle car (0 protect the minority and ethnic group based can be used to protect the minority thni sed on th Moral and Legal compared : ty oon es : les and positive laws have certain similarities and they tae oral pri rm mag oa seriptive in natuse, In other words, they tell us what we shoulg reasoning. They are bgth prescriptive in nature. tive; guiding conduet. Morality and laws (legal) are dlo. Also, they have the same objective; guiding human conduct. . The di I meant to regulate human behavior in accordance with acceptable measures, Th difference a ‘ 1 a y an authority (societ here however is that, legal prescriptions are backed by an Stated punishment attached to the law but moral pres “es. punishment attached to the law but me We can be punished for not acting legally, and have scriptions does not have these. Although scriptions does not have thes« wwe may not necessary be punished for acting “mmorally. Again, most activities that are considered illegal overlap wit tha ae mori. For instance, there are certain moral offences like sexual Practices, MORAL REASONING St what moral reasoning is, with all the coming more and mo Problems that we face, In order toa Let us look accompanying conceptions. The world today is be Ire © complex. This has affected the human behavioural ct rationally and make careful decisions, it is important to understand the various moral theo vies. We are also going to lear about the meanings and implications for choosing ong action over “iriows approaches needed to help in our the other. Therefore, we will explain and learn the Aecision-making process agen we are faced with a moral dilemma What is morality? The word moral (morality) , 4S derived from the Latin word “mores” which refers to ‘oti Behaviours oF habs ft the tis often used ‘nterchangeably with ethies which is from t 104Greek word —£thgs‘meaning how individuals relate tog conceived as Process. The most impo based on Our rational a.cepts. When we say of a person that his point that morality entails many concep! wchaben tee norm to various approaches and conceptions, There she is moral, we mean that her actions eon 1 ms ting point of s hi hhat is called common sense morality. This forms the starting ystematig is however what is called comn moral judgment. We shall look at it later. Moral Reasoning Thought experiment . oO morning in your village, you woke up t0 go to the farm but could not find your ne frosty morning in your village. y cutlass. You went to K Koo to borrow his cutlass promising to return it at 3:00pm, Ko Koo gave you the cutlass on condition that you wil return it atthe promised time, At exacly 2:45pm, Kofi Koo receives news of the death of his only child in the city and goes mad from the shock of the news, Not knowing what has happened to him, you went to his house to deliver the cutlass. Lo! . There were many people in his house with some preventing him from harming himself, When he saw you, he exclaimed “yest!! Thave. been looking for this to kill all those here for disturbing me”. Having promised to return the cutlass, the bases on which he gave it to you, will you return it to him? Note that you did not promise to retum it to him only when he is sane. Responses from this thought experiment emanate from the rational and feeling side of human nature, Moral reasoning establishes 1 i is a matter of consulting reason. ‘The morally right thing to do in situat ns such as our story above is determined by the reasons that we can develop from choosing one action over the other. Generally, logical reasoning is ‘equired in practical reasoning but in certain situations, it demands that we examine the pros Some scholars are of the view that re “son plays no role in moral decision-making. This is rather false because complex problems demand that moral agents take rational decisions 106ontext of reason, Moral agents are always required to give contex action. Characteristics of Morat Reasoning When we say someone is engaged in Moral reasoning, ‘We mean that she/he ig Using the rational faculty to decide on a moral dilemma, A moral dilemma Occurs When We are faced with tricky decision about g Complex problem, These are Wer. Such ink critically, How morally? Formally prob have a self: evident and direct ans do we know that we are Feasoning Here, there are some characteris ~ Unconscious and consoj ral intuitions: this involves having self. dispositions that is not depende, scious thinkin, an i You engage in deep thinking resul ions and assertions, > Reflective argument: it is also a svstemi Kinds of Moral Reasoning There ate four main laws of at decision-makievaluation that we form about an action, situat on and circumstance with reference 19 the smoral law, For instance, the opinion, ections and inaetions etc. that we develop over a given situation such as abortionswhether itis right or wrong is a moral judgment, Non-mor) judgment is however using non-moral standard to evaluate an issue, “Analysis into moral judgment is dependent on the characteristics it takes. Moral judgment take the form of moral positions. The root of the judgment determines its positon, Let % ook at three main positions that moral judgments emanate; % - — Subjectivism: it is the view that moral judgments are based on the feelings, dispositions and personal judgments of the individual or moral agent, Here, primacy is given 10 the individual feelings, moral perception and approval. © ~ Objectivism: it states that a moral judgment or statements of value are not b ased on the personal position of the moral agent. Thus, moral judgments are known outside of human thoughts and their truth is universal. +7 Relativism: this is the position that moral judgments are based on approval of 8 particular group, society or community (culture). Here, wl hat we may consider as wrong oe wrong emanate from the sanctions of the society or group (ethnic) or community. SECTION TWO Aesthetic Reasoning This section wil ‘sed in judging aesthetie values and the importa ince of aesthetics, What is Aesthetics? the various theories of art and beauty. Thus aesthetics concerns the vari us _issues_and appreciation Dleasant, sweet nice, ete. it yses mediums suc h as taste, sight, etc, to appreciate art, There ae four main dimensions of Aesthetics: x1. Normative Aesthetics: this is about the creation and jat_we consider beautiful ‘the creation and application of aesthetic standards Here, aesthetic rules an made to apply y appreciation that fall within the remits 108 al Bh#3. Descriptive Aesthetics: this When the aest appreciation ofa culture, ‘Bto1 ' 2 * £fOup or erson is described. Here, hen na eT ei instance, an anthropologist may describe the artistic styles of highlife and hi P life ariss in Ghana. a4. fae Hist tin of ashe ns, ic cases and The Aesthetic problem the term is applied to a diversity of things. Thus, when we say “art”, it has Meanings such as Performances, visual appreciation of beauty, scu Ipture ete, Another Problem is the nature of beauty, By intuition, beauty is Connected with arts, As a result, many Scholars have beauty is an enigmatic concept. Whilst philosophers such as Plato regarded beauty as an objective Property of objects, others such ag Subjective matter, clearly summed up as in the eye of the beholder” Again, there is the problem of, Objectivity. Some scholars such as Plato believe that art can be assessed on objective grounds, independent Of personal feeling. Others are also of the View that art can be assessed on subjective grounds, Spectrums of Aesthetics feeling or thought. In other words, aesthetics Statements are true or false independent! ly of what people think or believe, ~2 Absolutign: it holds the view that there is one Correct solution to every aesthetic Problem. Thus, there is no aesthetic Principle that can Override one another. For instance, «tere is only one correct way of defining comedy, #3. Relativism the truth of an aesthetic statement depends on the culture in which it is ‘made. Thus. aesthetic judement depends on the culture. 109ae cl din the individual. Thus, the truth #4, Subjectivism: Aesthetic judgments depen : “ine sesthetic statements is based on the person who makes the statement, 5. Aesthetic nihilism: this is the view that aesthetics is devoid of meaning Tee 5 words, aesthetics is meaningless, a deception or illusion and all aesthetic Statemens are false, Aesthetic principles ‘There are principles in aesthetics which are aimed at supporting the critical Judgment oe an. These principles also influence artistic ereation based on how objects are SUPPOSE to valued, Here, objects must be able to fulfill certain functions before we can say that it is estatcaty valuable. The principles are listed below; let's take a look at them: & Objects are aesthetically valuable if they are meaningful or teach us truths b. Objects are aesthetically valuable if they are having the Capacity to convey values ang or political change. those who experience or appreciate them, & Objects are aesthetically valuable if they 110