HUM039-

ETHICS
 THE ETHICS OF
SENTIMENT, REASON
AND COURAGE

Copyright:
ikldescartin 2019
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
A. SENTIMENT AND MORAL DECISION-
MAKING
B. FEELINGS AND REASON
C. THE MORAL IMPETUS OF
IMPARTIALITY
D. THE SEVEN-STEP GUIDE TO MORAL
TOPICS TO BE COVERED

G. PHYSICAL AND MORAL COURAGE

H. THE MORAL IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Establish the role sentiment, reason, and courage
play
in ethical and moral decision‐making;
2. Elaborate on the philosophical ideas that
strengthen sentiment, reason, and courage, and their
link to morality and ethics;
3. Outline the significance of sentiment when making
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
4. Outline the significance of reason when making
moral and ethical valuations;
5. Outline the significance of the will when making
moral and ethical valuations;
6. Define courage and specify the nuances between
its two classifications (physical and moral).
INTRODUCTION
The 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume, in his work, A
Treatise of Human Nature, furthered the idea that morality is
based not on reason1. but on emotions.
Reason alone cannot be a motive to the will, but
rather is the “slave of the passions”;
2. Moral distinctions are not derived from reason;
3. Moral distinctions are derived from moral
sentiments; that is, the feeling of approval (esteem,
praise) and disapproval (blame) felt by spectators who
contemplate a character trait or action;
4. While some virtues and vices are natural, others,
INTRODUCTION
The 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume, in his work, A
Treatise of Human Nature, furthered the idea that morality is
based not on reasonThe
butway
on emotions.
Hume sees it, the reliance on reason
alone simply cannot suffice when making moral
valuations. “Hume’s Law,” as what English
moral philosopher R.M. Hare (2014) calls it,
advances the thought that a moral imperative,
or an “ought”, cannot proceed from an “is”, or
a mere factual observation. Ultimately,
SENTIMENT AND MORAL DECISION-
MAKING

A rational person is completely different from a moral

one, because rationality in and of itself is not
SENTIMENT AND MORAL DECISION-
MAKING

Man as a moral agent can only attain

virtue if feelings play no significant
role in making decisions.

IMMANUEL KANT
SENTIMENT AND MORAL DECISION-
MAKING
Feelings and reason actually
complement each other, not
antagonize. Emotions, for
him, can be considered rational, for
there is a logical need in man to
communicate emotional
expressions. He
RONALD DE SOUSAadvanced that the function of
REASON AND
IMPARTIALITY

Impartiality is not neutrality.

It is partiality for justice.”
– Stanislaw Jerzy Lec
COGNITIVE
DISSONANCE
“Sometimes people hold a core belief
that is very strong. When they are
presented with evidence that works
against that belief, the new evidence
cannot be accepted. It would create a
feeling that is extremely uncomfortable,
called cognitive dissonance. And because
it is so important to protect the core
belief, they will rationalize,
REASON AND
IMPARTIALITY
In short, reason and impartiality, as
guided by sound judgment, can be
reliable tools in bypassing the
subjectivity of feelings (which sometimes
distract from making the right
decisions).
BUT HOW DO THEY RELATE TO MORAL
THE MORAL IMPETUS OF
IMPARTIALITY
Impartiality simply states that no one is
above or beneath any standard when
making moral valuations. So favoring
one person over another on the sole
basis of race or skin color, for instance,
is never justifiable. Moral judgments,
after all, should be backed by reason
(Rachels, 2003).
BUT HOW DO THEY RELATE TO MORA
REASON AND IMPARTIALITY IN
THE FIRST AMENDMENT DEFENSE
ACT (FADA)
The so‐called First Amendment Defense Act
(FADA) was introduced in the United States
Congress in June 10, 2015 by Senator Mike
Lee of Utah and House Representative Raul
Labrador of Ohio. This controversial bill, if
passed into law, will protect people who will
take actions against others “on the basis that
they acted in accordance with a religious
belief or moral conviction” from being
penalized by the federal government. Its
THE SEVEN-STEP GUIDE TO
MORAL REASONING
BY MICHAEL DAVIS
1. State the problem.
2. Check the facts.
3. Identify relevant factors.
4. Develop a list of options.
THE SEVEN-STEP GUIDE TO
MORAL REASONING
BY MICHAEL DAVIS
5. Test the options.
-Harm Test
Would less damage be done on others when I favor this
one decision?
-Publicity Test
Would I be proud of this decision if it makes the evening
news?
-Defensibility Test
• Reversibility Test -Would I still prefer my option of
choice if it were to have some adverse effects on me
instead of others?

• Colleague Test- How would my profession’s ethics

committee see the option?

• Organization Test -What would my company’s legal

counsel say regarding the option?

• Virtue Test-What would become of me if I enact this

option all the time?
THE SEVEN-STEP GUIDE TO
MORAL REASONING
BY MICHAEL DAVIS
6. Come up with a choice or decision
based on the abovementioned steps.

7. Review Steps 1–6.

MORAL COURAGE
To thoroughly interrogate man’s character, one should raise
the question, “WHAT IS THE GOOD OF
MAN?”
The answer to this, quite simplistically,
is the soul’s adherence to virtue. Virtue,
as defined by Aristotle, is a character
trait that manifests in the habitual
performance of a set of behavioral cues.
COURAGE DEFINED
COURAGE is that which sits
between the extremes of cowardice
and recklessness, the same way
virtue does between excess and
deficiency.

COWARDICE is either retreat or

complete inaction in the face of
ARISTOTLE
PHYSICAL AND MORAL
COURAGE
Physical courage is the enactment of virtue
through actual activity. Conversely, moral
courage is never always demonstrated on a
strictly physical level. Instead, engaging in
such acts serves mainly to further typify the
virtues one lives by. Champion boxer
Muhammad Ali known for his physical
courage as an athlete, was stripped of his
heavyweight title in 1967 due to his refusal to
be drafted in Vietnam and subsequently fight
in what he believes to be an ideologically MUHAMMAD ALI
MORAL COURAGE:
DETERMINANTS AND FACTORS

The Three Elements of Moral Courage

MORAL COURAGE: FOSTERING
FACTORS

1. SOCIAL NORMS: predominantly the most salient prosocial

ones, in encouraging morally courageous acts.
2. ANGER: Morally courageous acts are often caused by moral
outrage, or the kind of anger provoked by the violation of a
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
Will is the fortitude it takes for
one to act or decide according to
a personal set of principles.
BUT HOW DO THEY RELATE
TO MORALITY?
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
Will is the faculty man has in
order to act according to a
-Immanuel
conception ofKant
law.
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL Martin Luther King Jr. has no
significant power over the success or
failure of the civil rights movement,
but does over the will to lead the
cause. In other words, it is through
the motives behind an action that
man’s morality can be properly
evaluated. Therefore, it is the initial
enactment of his will, not merely “to
conform to the law but for the
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
Flawed will is predominantly
influenced by the impulses of
human nature, making its freedom
nonabsolute, especially if compared
to that of the moral will, which is
-Immanuel
rooted primarily inKant
duty and
reason.
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL Will is the “key to all existence”. The
will is the inner nature of being but
visibly expressed through and by the
human body, which in itself is an idea.
Thus, existence is will materialized,
capable of generating all that is
-Arthur
desirable Schopenhauer
and otherwise in
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
Will as guided by intellect, when
desired, can be labeled as
-Thomas Aquinas (Philosopher and
the appetite for reason.
Theologian)
THE MORAL
IMPERATIVE OF THE
WILL
Will in and of itself, without relation
to intellect, is what ultimately guides
-Josiah Royce
man.
(Idealist)
 THE ETHICS OF
SENTIMENT, REASON
AND COURAGE

Copyright:
ikldescartin 2019
And I Thank You!