LESSON 9

Reason and Impartiality as Minimum Requirements for Morality

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
(1) Define reason and impartiality as minimum requirements for morality.
(2) Apply the 7-step moral reasoning model and the value clarification process

 
Reason and impartiality are the bare minimums of morality. "Moral judgments must be supported by
good reason and impartiality. "Morality necessitates the impartial consideration of each individual's
interests." Moral judgments, or the resolution of a moral dilemma, must be supported by good reason.
Reason and impartiality are mental activities that adhere to the basic principle of consistency, or the
absence of contradiction between one idea and another. It is the process of deriving necessary
conclusions from premises while avoiding all forms of deception or reasoning fallacy. It avoids ad
hominem attacks by not attacking the opponent's personality and instead directing one's argument
against his idea. Reason avoids ad misericordiam, or an appeal to pity, because appearing unhappy does
not help an argument. Reason does not use ad verecundiam, or appeal to authority; power and
influence cannot make a wrong right. In other words, good reasons include reasons that are consistent
and coherent.
A logical, unbiased, objective reason avoids ambiguities such as equivocation, circular reasoning,
amphibology, and so on. Coherent reasoning is required to establish the truth and significance of moral
judgments.
"Morality necessitates the impartial consideration of each individual's interest." In order to arrive at a
sound moral judgment, you must listen to everyone who attempts to speak. Biases and prejudices must
be suspended between brackets. Everyone's message, whether silent or spoken, should be allowed to
be revealed. Everyone always has something to say. No one has a monopoly on truth. A moral issue
must be viewed from various angles and perspectives.

SCOTT RAE'S 7 STEPS OF MORAL REASONING

The following is another sample method of arriving at an ethical or moral decision, the 7 steps of Scott
Rae's moral reasoning. (1996)
(1) Gather the facts, information. "The simplest way of clarifying an ethical dilemma is to make sure
the facts are clear. Ask: Do you have all the facts that are necessary to make a good decision? What do
we know?What do we need to know?"
(2) Determine the ethical issues, similar to "statement of the problem." " .... The competing
interests are what create the dilemma. Moral values and virtues must support the competing interests
in order for an ethical dilemma to exist. If you cannot identify the underlying values/ virtues then you do
not have an ethical dilemma. Often people hold these positions strongly and with passion because of the
value/virtue beneath them."
(3) Determine what virtues/principles have a bearing on the case. This is similar to identifying the
relevant factors (internal and external). "In an ethical dilemma certain values and principles are central
to the competing positions. Identify these. Determine if some should be given more weight than others.
Ask what the source for the principle is constitution, culture, natural law, religious tradition ... These
supplement biblical principles."
(4) List the alternatives or develop a list of options. "Creatively determine possible courses of action
for your dilemma. Some will almost immediately be discarded but generally the more you list the
greater potential for coming up with a really good one. It will also help you come up with a broader
selection of ideas."
(5) Compare the alternatives with the virtues/principles. "This step eliminates alternatives as they
are weighed by the moral principles which have a bearing on the case. Potentially the issue will be
resolved here as all alternatives except one are eliminated. Here you must satisfy all the relevant virtues
and values - so at least some of the alternatives will be eliminated (even if you still have to go on to step
6). Often here you have to weigh principles and virtues - make sure you have a good reason for each
weighing."
(6) Consider the consequences or test the options. "If you disclose the information directly possible
consequences include; - family feel alienated, cultural values have been violated - family may take
patient to another hospital - patient may 'give up' - patient might be happy they are finally being told
the truth." If you continue withholding information possible consequences include; - patient continues
to be fearful and anxious about the treatment - patient finds out somehow and trust is compromised
family are happy cultural values are being respected.

In general, the following may be used to test the options: (Davis,1999)

• Harm test: Does this option do less harm than the alternatives?
• Publicity test: Would I want my choice of this option published in the newspaper?
• Defensibility test: Could I defend my choice of this option before a congressional committee or
committee of peers? Reversibility test: Would I still think this option was a good choice if I were
adversely affected by it?
• Colleague test: What do my colleagues say when I describe my problem and suggest this option
as my solution?
• Professional test: What might my profession's governing body for ethics say about this option?
• Organization test: What does my company's ethics officer or legal counsel say about this?
(7) Make a decision. "Ethical decisions rarely have pain-free solutions - it might be you have to
choose the solution with the least number of problems/painful consequences. Even when making a
"good" decision you might still lose sleep over it!"

Values Clarification

Moral reasoning determines whether something is right or wrong, good or bad (valuable or not
valuable). As a result, the moral reasoning process may follow a model known as values clarification.
As part of the moral reasoning model, the values clarification method consists of a series of questions
that one may ask himself or others in order to arrive at one's true values, values that he truly possesses
and acts upon. The steps of the values clarification model are as follows: (Raths, L. et al, 1978)

a. Choosing freely.
Did you choose this value freely? Where do you suppose you first got that idea?" or "Are you the only
one among your friends who feels this way?"

b. Choosing from alternatives.

"What reasons do you have for your choice?" or "How long did you think about this problem before you
decided?"

c. Choosing after thoughtful consideration.

"What would happen if this choice were implemented? If another choice was implemented?" or "What
is good about this choice? What could be good about the other choices?"

d. Prizing and being happy with the choice.

"Are you happy about feeling this way?" or "Why is this important to you?"

e. Prizing and willing to affirm the choice publicly.

"Would you be willing to tell the class how you feel?" or "Should someone who feels like you stand up in
public and tell people how he or she feels?"

f. Acting on the choice.

"What will you do about your choice? What will you do next?" or "Are you interested in joining this
group of people who think the same as you do about this?"

g. Acting repeatedly in some pattern of life.

"Have you done anything about it? Will you do it again?" or "Should you try to get other people
interested in this?"

To determine whether or not something is truly valuable, one can go through the process of asking and
answering the seven questions. The first is to choose freely. Do you have the ability to choose? Aren't
you under duress? Second, are you deciding between alternatives? If you only have one option, you may
not be able to choose what is most important to you. Third, are you making your decision after careful
consideration of the alternatives? Why are you considering one of the alternatives over the others?
Fourth, are you satisfied with your decision? Or are you second-guessing yourself? Fifth, are you willing
to inform others about your decision, publicly affirm your decision, and are happy to tell them about it?
Sixth, are you following through on your decision? If it's a college course, are you going to enroll and
take it seriously? Are you going to eat it if it's about food? Will you play a game if it's about a game? Will
you follow a set of principles or rules if you have a choice? Seventh, are you acting on it on a regular
basis? In other words, are you planning to pursue the course as a career? Would you eat the food again?
Would you play the game again if given the chance? And do you always stick to the principle you've
chosen?The answers to these questions will eventually reveal what you truly value in life, clarifying your
values.
 
The 7 questions can be summed up into 3 big clarifying questions:

1) Did you choose your action freely from among alternatives after thoughtfully considering the
consequences of each alternative;
2) Do you prize or cherish your choice by publicly affirming it and by campaigning for others to
choose it?;
3) Do you act on your choice repeatedly and consistently? If the answers to the questions are aYES,
then the moralchoice or moral decision can be said to be a product of reason.

As a result of the process, one may discover an ideal value priority. It may be necessary to recall and
reorient oneself to genuine moral values.

Critique: Creative Responsibility

When a moral problem presents itself, whether through a silent or verbal message, or through an
occurrence or incident, the serious response is a process of moral reasoning. The aforementioned
reasoning models can be used. Classical or traditional frameworks or norms may be applied
automatically. One can be either legalistic or situational. However, one important guide to the moral
reasoning process is what ethicists such as Fr. Gorospe (1974) defined creative responsibility as having
the following characteristics:
1. A creative and fitting response involves some form of positive human action.
2. To give a fitting human response in some form of positive action inevitably means "create" a
response. The creative responsibility is something to be discovered and created and is best envisioned in
concrete cases.
3. A creative response means one has to choose from among many possible fitting responses. It is
impossible to find only one possible fitting response to a human situation.
4. In order that creative response of the individual be authentic he must be in constant dialogue
with the community and culture in which he lives. Creative responsibility is not only individual but
collective; it is co-responsibility.
Responding silently or verbally to a call and addressing an ethical problem creatively by considering all
possible points of view, thinking outside the box, and using relevant frameworks is an example of
creative responsibility. There are always norms or rules to follow, but one must apply them creatively, in
light of the situation and conditions, and be willing to bend the rule when no other option is available.
This concept is easier to grasp when viewed from a broader perspective, such as that of a ruler or
government. For example, the government's response to the drug problem, such as adopting a policy of
killing (murdering) the drug addict on the assumption that he or she is a dangerous and useless being, is
uncreative and irresponsible.

Applying the phenomenological method of suspending judgment, placing previous knowledge, biases,
prejudices, etc. between brackets, and letting the thing be or show itself as itself is one technique for
coming up with a creative response.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REASON AND WILL

Moral people are endowed with intellect and will. Reason conducts the study, research, investigation,
and fact-finding. The "will" "disposes" what the "intellect proposes." It employs logic, the principle of
consistency, and avoids fallacious reasoning in order to arrive at a true and accurate proposition. The
product or work of reason in a research study is the body of facts gathered, organized, synthesized, and
evaluated. The will's task is to reach a decisive conclusion.

The will is a mental faculty associated with decision making. It is the one who answers yes or no. This
author says this, that author says this, and everyone else says the same thing. Now, use your will to
decide what you should say or think.

Decision making, which is a will activity, can be developed. Early in life, such as children, one should be
given the opportunity to exercise one's will, such as being taught to make choices from alternatives. Do
you want to eat something or not? Bread or rice? Tea or coffee? This is true in societies where there is a
culture of choice, which allows for the development of the will. A spoon-feeding culture does not foster
willpower. Banking education, in which the teacher simply deposits facts and concepts and withdraws
them periodically during quizzes and tests without encouraging students to think and reflect, does not
promote the development of will.

Jean Paul Sartre, the most well-known existentialist, stated that an individual person is nothing until he
or she begins to make decisions. Decisions are ultimately what define who a person is. The essence of a
person is his or her collection of decisions. The development of a culture of moral strength or virtue, or
will power, or free will, appears to be the mark of cultural maturation. The "capacity of rational agents
to choose a course of action from among various alternatives" is defined as "free will."
Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded, the power or
right to act, speak, or think as one wants. It is the power of self-determination. When the will is free,
there is freedom.To Hornedo (1972), the stuff of the free will is a multi-dimensional power,energy,or
strength. One is free to the degree that he has energy, that is, physically free to the degree that he is
physically strong; materially or economically free to the degree that he is materially or economically
strong, and so on.

Emphasis is made on what freedom is, and not on what it is not. To say that one is free when there is an
absence of obstacle is to give a picture of a weak person who cannot walk to get out his room despite an
open door. Freedom must not only be understood as the absence of obstacle; it must be an
autonomous energy. It is useless talking about being free to move, walk, if you have not strength to
move or walk. It is useless saying you are free to go to Manila by bus, if you have no money for your
fare. Freedom implies power, energy, strength. in all human dimensions, as the stuff of freedom. A free
person is one who is physically healthy and strong, psychologically normal, financially stable. It is useless
shouting in the streets for "economic freedom" if one is economically weak. In terms of morality, moral
strength is moral freedom. Morally strong people would not allow a tyrant to thrive or last long. In the
words of Jose Rizal is the statement, "there can be no tyrants where there can be no slaves."

The Courage To Be

"Pureness of heart is to will one thing," Kierkegaard says. But "willing one thing" takes courage.
According to Paul Tillich (1952), "courage is self-affirmation 'in-spite-of,' that is, despite that which tends
to prevent the self from affirming itself." Courage is "the affirmation of being inspite of non-being." This
implies affirming, accepting oneself despite one's defects, lack, or imperfections, and affirming the world
we live in despite all that it lacks. In particular, courage is affirming, allowing the drug addict or drug
dependent to live despite his or her drug addiction. "Our greatest glory is rising every time we fall, not
never falling."Courage is the refusal to give up in the face of setbacks and failures. It just keeps going
and going. In politics, courage is defined as affirming or accepting one's people regardless of their
ignorance or poverty. Political will is the courage to promote the greatest good for the greatest number
of people despite their selfishness, greed, and disorderly behavior. Commitment, engagement, fidelity,
and authentic existence are all forms of "affirmation of being in the face of non-being." Courage is
affirming the world in the face of tragedy. "with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a
beautiful world," says the final line of Desiderata.

 
 WEEK 9

ACTIVITY SHEET NO. 9

Reason and Impartiality as Minimum Requirements for Morality
Name: __________________________________ Date: ______________________
Year and Section: _________________________ Instructor: _________________
Direction: Read each statements and answer the questions that follows.
1. St. Paul said: “I know the good to do but why is it that I do the opposite of the good that I
know?”
a. Do you experience the same? Does this mean unity of the intellect and will or lack of unity?
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b. For individual persons to be truly moral, how should their intellect and the will function?
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2. When is a person said to be weak-willed? Would you consider Governor Pontius Pilate weak-
willed? Why?
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3. Interpret Robert Frost’s immortal lines in the context of making moral decisions.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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4. Relate Kierkegaard’s “purity of heart is to will one thing,” Paul Tillich’s “courage is self-
affirmation ín-spite-of,’ and Hornedo’s stuff of free will as a multidimensional matter to leading a moral
life.
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5. According to Tillich, Kierkegaard and Hornedo, how can the will be strengthened?
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