Evaluating a Moral Theory

1
Evaluating a Moral Theory

• Brian Burton
• Western Washington University

2
A Question to Ponder

• Should Microsoft be punished for its competitive
  practices?
• Why or why not?What principles apply here?
• What standards are you applying in judging
  Microsoft?

3
What Is a Moral Theory?

• A systematic ordering of moral principles
• A way of organizing thoughts about the right way
  to live
• involves critical reflection
• essential in the process of becoming a morally
  responsible person
• essential in becoming consistently moral

4
The Three Levels of a Moral Theory

• Moral judgments
• moral evaluation of individuals or their actions
• Moral principles
• moral evaluation of types or classes of action
• Moral standards
• the criteria for judging what is morally right

5
Moral Judgments

• A directive for action
• Types of moral judgment
• morally obligatory
• morally impermissible
• morally permissible
• supererogatory
• nontrivial and trivial
• Examples

6
Moral Principles

• The basis for moral judgments
• Personal ethics
• duties to self
• duties to others
• Social ethics
• individual-group relationships
• group-group relationships
• Examples

7
Moral Standards

• The most fundamental moral principle
• a criterion for determining right and wrong
• A characteristic all moral actions must share
• Definitions of crucial terms
• to clarify the concepts
• Examples

8
Four Evaluation Criteria

• Consistency
• the formal criterion
• Justification
• the rational criterion
• Plausibility
• the common-sense criterion
• Usefulness
• the pragmatic criterion

9
Consistency

• The question of logical compatibility
• The question of incoherence
• Does inconsistency doom a moral theory?

10
Justification

• Defending the moral standard
• Deductive proof impossible
• How then do we justify our views?

11
Plausibility

• Comparison with our own prior moral beliefs
• The options if there is a conflict
• The broader notion of common sense

12
Usefulness

• Can the theory help us solve moral problems?
• The difficulty in application
• Resolving conflicting directives