Moral DecisionMaking

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Moral Decision-Making

• First Principles!
• Utilitarian approaches
• Teleological approaches
• ACTION approach

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FIRST PRINCIPLES

• Do good avoid evil
• theres a difference between good and evil!
• that difference makes a difference in our lives
  (individually and socially)
• Life is good!
• no other goods can be greater than life, because
  without life we can have no other goods
• whatever is anti-life is therefore bad

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UTILITARIAN approaches

• focus on Intention
• principle maximize pleasure or usefulness
• related forms include
• egoism (whatever is good for me is good)
• emotivism (whatever feels good to me is good)

• problems
• immediate ... what I want is not necessarily good
  for an other
• ultimate ... social conflict

4
TELEOLOGICAL approaches

• focus on Effect
• principle the end justifies the means
• related forms include
• consequentialism (if the results are good, the
  action is good)
• proportionalism (if more good results than bad,
  the action is good)

• problems
• immediate ... one cannot predict the future!
• ultimate ... tyranny

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ACTION approach

• Name the action accurately!
• i.e., dont confuse action with results of
  the action
• Is the action intrinsically evil?
• if yes then nothing can make it good!
• if no then proceed ...
• What is my intention?
• i.e., am I trying to do good or bad?
• What might be the consequences?
• i.e., does this action help or harm (both me and
  others)