“Moral Philosophy is the rational study of the meaning and justification of moral claims. A ‘moral claim’ evaluates the rightness or wrongness of an action or a person’s character”. For example, “stealing is wrong” claims that the act of stealing is wrong, while “people should not be dishonest” claims a character trait (i.e. dishonesty) is wrong (Gert and Gert).
“Descriptively, morality refers to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion) or accepted by an individual for his/her own behavior. Normatively, it refers to a code of conduct that, given specified conditions, would be put forward by all rational persons.” (“What Is Moral Philosophy?”).
Moral Philosophy appeals to some of the world’s most astute and intellectual minds. Nevertheless, anyone seeking to better understand themselves, the world they live in, and their relations to the world and each other, should study moral philosophy.
Interestingly, the birthing of new ideas and sound reasoning results from inspiration gained via philosophical concepts. Moreover, philosophical works teach learners to observe, question, evaluate and reason about some of life’s most basic, yet meaningful questions. Interestingly, the answers to philosophical questions extend well beneath the surface and are in no way fixed, as is the case with other sciences.
For the University Scholar, business professional, curious mind, or simply the avid learner, moral philosophy offers an endless variety of
Phael Lander
PSY 112-A
Assignment 1
The word morality is is defined as ;The quality of being in accord with standards of right or good conduct(TheFreeDictionary.com, 2015). To be moral is to be: capable of conforming to the rules of right conduct(Dictionary.com, 2015). From birth we are taught that we should not do this, and we should not do that. But, how did our parents learn that that is right or wrong?
“Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness” (Immanuel Kant). Morality is the divergence between right and wrong in every aspect of life. The history of the world has demonstrated human need to attain sovereignty. In the journey to achieve this goal, people have forgotten the gravity of the steps taken to complete an ideal and have only focused on the result. There have been several examples where detrimental actions have been taken by fortunate people to accomplish their goals.
The final chapter, chapter 21, of Russ Shafer-Landau’s book, The Fundamentals of Ethics, emphasis is placed on the fact that moral objectivity is not always completely universal but does not mean the idea of moral objectivism has to be rejected. Moral objectivism states that moral standards should be universal but there are some circumstances and exceptions to this claim. Shafer-Landau presents eleven arguments in chapter 21 that some consider challenges to the universality principle of moral objectivity. Not only will moral objectivism be examined in this paper but also another philosophical view known as moral skepticism will be discussed. In addition to the arguments present by Shafter-Landau’s book this paper will include an analysis from
In every day life, we face many situations that require a moral decision. We have to decide what is right and what is wrong? Not always is this an easy task thus, it seems important to analyze how we make our moral decisions. I will start with an analysis of how we make decisions in general
Ethics, virtue, justice and morality all stem from what Socrates calls the examined life, in which philosophy is used as a means to gain wisdom and knowledge which act as the basis for these values. Philosophy then, is not just an occupation, but rather an integral part of life, and a necessary component of what it means to
Morality is a set of values held by a person in making when judging and evaluating what is deemed right or wrong, good or bad (Brandt, 1959).
When we talk about morality in counseling it’s about the reasoning by the counselor that has four levels. They are, personal intuition, ethical guidelines established by professional organizations, ethical principles and general theories of moral action (Kitchener, 1984).
Ethics is described as adopted principles that has relations to man’s behavior and moral decision making (Van Hoose & Kottler, 1985). Ethics is often thought as a synonym to morality.
Morality. It has been questioned, emphasized, and respected since the beginning of time. Yet even today, not one human being can say what is morally right. Rather, morality is a matter of opinion. It was the opinion of Victor Frankenstein which stated that it was alright to create a “monster”.
What’s the Right Thing to do? by Michael J. Sandel discusses how there are three different approaches to justice: welfare, virtue, and freedom. The theme of the book is on how and what is considered moral. He introduces several perspectives on morality and we as readers are given insight into what people of different groups consider the rights and wrongs of morality. Some of these different beliefs are utilitarianism, libertarianism, and different philosophers views.
The concept of ethics entails systemizing, justifying, and recommending right and wrong conduct. It involves in practical reasoning: good, right, duty, obligation, virtue, freedom, rationality, and choice. Humanity has questioned this concept of ethics and ‘good’ for as long as it has survived, as it deals with real-life issues such as “what is morally right and wrong?” and “how do people ought to act?”
There is much debate on the issue of recreational drug use. Some argue it harms the user, therefore, is wrong. Others maintain that recreational drug use inspired artistic expression in some, religious awakening, and a general feeling of pleasure and positive attitude in others. Timothy Hsiao argues that recreational drug use is immoral because it impairs cognitive abilities and the state based on this fact has an obligation to enact legal restriction to safeguard that people actually exercise their freedom.
1. Introduction – ethics – what are they?
Ethics (or moral philosophy) is the kind of philosophy that define concept of right or wrong conduct. In practice, ethics try to resolve questions of human morality, by explaining concepts of good and evil.
Ethics, culture, morals – are bind together, they are embedded.
For hundreds of years philosophers have assigned knowledge the supreme role and have called knowledge the ultimate purpose and meaning of human life. Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher said “theoretical wisdom, that is, knowledge of the first principles and of what follows from them, is by nature our purpose and is the ultimate thing for the sake of which we have come to be. This is the highest form of knowledge since it is knowledge with grounding of the highest things. Through this kind of knowledge one not only knows what follows from the first principles, but also possesses truth about the first principles.”
Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872–1970) was a British philosopher, logician, essayist and social critic best known for his work in mathematical logic and analytic philosophy.
Ethics and Religion
The human views on ethics are greatly influenced by certain beliefs, such as religion or philosophical ideas. Philosophy and religion are similar in this sense; they both are morally influential. However, if a person did not have such views, he/she is still capable of having good morals. Though religion is very impacting in many people’s ethical standings, and a majority of human morality is derived from some belief in religion or supported by philosophical reasoning, it is not the only way a person can be moral.
As children, we were taught by our parents that it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal. As we grow up and enter into the real world with some knowledge of right and wrong, we see, first hand, the importance of ethics as well as its complexity. The role of ethics in our society and in an individual’s life is very necessary because it has a large influence on today, as well as the future. We need to learn about good ethics because they guide our decisions, make us who we are, and determine our future.
