Ethics and Moral

Reasoning
I. Ethics
II. Characteristics of moral principles
III. Some ethical principles
IV. The presence of ethical principles in moral reasoning
V. A guide to moral reasoning
VI. Assessment of moral reasoning
VII.Strategy for making ethical decisions

Outline
 Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with
how we ought to live, with the idea of the good,
and with concepts such as “right” and “wrong.”

What is ethics?
Moral philosophy, also called ethical theory, is
the systematic effort to understand moral
concepts and justify moral principles and
theories
1. Prescriptivity
2. Universalizability
3. Overridingness
4. Publicity
5. Practicability

What are the characteristics of

moral principles?
J.S. Mill’s Utility or Greatest Happiness
Principle:

Actions are right in proportion as they tend to

promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce
the reverse of happiness

Utilitarian Ethics
Peter Singer’s Preference Utilitarianism:

We should do what furthers the preferences of

those affected by an action

We should judge actions by the extent to which

they accord with the preferences of any beings
affected by the action or its consequences
ACT UTILITARIANISM RULE UTILITARIANISM

Each act is to be judged Each act is judged in

by its own individual accordance with rules of
consequences conduct
 The only thing that is absolutely good, good in
itself and without qualification, is the good will.

Immanuel Kant’s
Deontological Ethics
HYPOTHETICAL CATEGORICAL
IMPERATIVE IMPERATIVE

If you want A, then do Do B out of your

B. recognition that it is
your duty to do B and
for no other reason
whatsoever
One must perform a moral duty solely for its own
sake.
Formula of universal law

Act only according to that maxim by which you

can at the same time will that it should become a
universal law.
 Maxim of action

Universalize maxim

Accept successfully universalized maxim (reject

unsuccessful maxim)
Formula of the end in itself

Act in such a way that you always treat humanity,

whether in your own person or in the person of any
other, never simply as a means but always at the
same time as an end.
For our purpose, we’ll focus on the examples of
moral reasoning that involve the application of a
moral principle to specific cases (hence in this
situation, we’ll be able to apply what we learned for
both formal and informal logic)

Moral reasoning
 When faced with a deductive moral argument, you can assess the
argument by following these steps:
1. Find the conclusion of the argument
2. Find the reasons (both implied and explicit) given to support
the conclusion of the argument
3. Is it a cogent argument? (Is it valid, sound, and cogent?)
• Distinguish between the factual and evaluative claims in the
premises.
• Assess the factual claims (i.e. did the author use a reliable
authority?) (Recall the informal fallacies)
• Identify the ethical principle within the argument
• Determine if the ethical principle within the argument is
used correctly

Guide for assessing moral arguments

You should also be critical about the moral concepts used in
the argument. You should:
• Determine if there is a term that needs to be clarified in
the argument
• Determine if the moral argument supplies a good
definition of the crucial concept in the argument (recall
the characteristics of a good definition)
 1. Consider why a decision is necessary
2. List the options (i.e. the various possible outcomes of
action)
3. Determine if any of the possible options can be ruled out
on ethical grounds.
4. For each option
• List the consequences
• Consider how important the consequences are
• Decide whether each of the listed consequences
counts for or against the option
5. Determine the most optimal option in light of (3) and (4)

Strategy for making ethical decisions