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Philosophy 219
INTRODUCTION TO MORAL THEORY
Theoretical vs. Practical
One of the ways in which philosophers (since Aristotle)
subdivide the field of philosophy is to distinguish between
theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy.
◦ The distinction is often grounded in the recognition that knowing
what a thing is is different from knowing what it is good for.
Theoretical philosophy refers to philosophical activity that
aims at knowledge in and of itself, and concerns itself then
with the ultimate features of reality.
Practical Philosophy refers to philosophical activity that
aims at action and choice (not knowing, but doing).
Social and Political Philosophy
Our subject matter this semester has traditionally been
associated with practical philosophy.
There are clearly theoretical elements involved (nature of
power, authority, sovereignty) but the aim of inquiring into
these matters is ultimately to make choices about our life
together.
◦ What is the best way to organize our social existence?
It is the ‘practical’ character of social and political
philosophy that explains why it satisfies the moral values
general education requirement.
From Politics to Ethics
Politics and ethics are both concerned about the
good life. The difference is in the focus.
◦ Politics directs our attention to our social existence while
ethics focuses on individual choice or character.
◦ In some important sense, they must obviously be done
together.
Though we can’t do them both in one semester, we
should spend a little time thinking about the nature
and subject matter of philosophical ethics.
What is a Moral Theory?
Answering this question requires we ask
some subsidiary ones.
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What concepts do moral theories rely on?
What do moral theories aim to provide?
How and why do moral theories employ moral
principles?
How are moral theories structured?
The Right And The Good
All moral theories employ and deploy these two
main concepts.
"Right" and it's inverse "Wrong" are typically used
to evaluate actions.
"Good" and it's inverse "Bad" typically assess the
value of agents, experiences, things, or states of
affairs.
Right/Wrong Action
The concept "Right" has both a narrow and a broad
meaning.
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Narrowly, right actions are those we are morally
obligated to do.
Broadly, right actions are all actions that are not
wrong.
The concept "Wrong" has only one meaning.
Moral Value
When we identify something or someone as good
or bad, we are speaking to its character, and
particularly of the moral value that it has.
Things can have or be valuable in one of two ways.
◦ Intrinsic value refers to a character or feature inherent in the thing.
◦ Extrinsic value refers to how a thing is related to some other valuable thing
(ultimately one with intrinsic value.
Intrinsic value is what philosophers are typically
concerned with.
A Theory of the Right and the Good
Given these accounts of the Right and the
Good, we can identify three tasks that a moral
theory must accomplish.
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MT must identify the right-making features of
actions.
MT must provide an account of intrinsic moral
value.
MT must specify how these accounts can serve as
the basis for the justification of specific moral
conclusions.
Two Main Aims of Moral
Theory
These three tasks of moral theory provide us with
the means of distinguishing two main aims.
◦ The theoretical aim (corresponding to the first two
tasks) is to identify the underlying features of actions,
persons and other morally relevant elements that make
them right or wrong, good or bad. In other words, MTs
have to explain what makes something morally
relevant.
◦ The practical aim (corresponding to the third task) is to
be action-guiding. In other words, MTs must provide us
with resources with which to respond to the moral
issues that confront us.
Taking Aim with Moral Principles
One tool that philosophers use to satisfy these
aims is the moral principle.
A moral principle is a general statement of the
right-making characteristics of actions or of the
specification of intrinsic value.
◦ Principles that focus on actions are called "Principles of Right
Conduct."
◦ Principles that focus on intrinsic value are called "Principles of
Value."
A Plurality of Theories
Given that different moral theories emphasize different
principles, you shouldn’t be surprised that when we
start looking at specific theories, we will find that they
highlight different features of our moral lives.
In many cases, these differences mask an essential
continuity in moral evaluations, but on occasion there
will be important evaluative differences.
We need to consider how we should evaluate the
differing claims of the moral theories we will discuss.
Evaluating Moral Theories
In addition to a consideration of the adequacy of the arguments offered
in support of a particular theory, there are a number of features which a
successful ethical theory must exhibit.
The two central features correspond to the two main aims of moral
theory.
◦ Corresponding to the theoretical aim is the principle of explanatory power:
a theory should help us understand our moral evaluations. The better the
explanation, the better the theory.
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You know murder is wrong. Now ask yourself why? That's a harder question to answer
than it might at first seem, and moral theory can fill in the explanatory gap.
Corresponding to the practical aim is the principle of practical
guidance: a theory should help us make the morally correct choices.
The better the guidance, the better the theory.
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If you are faced with the challenge of having to help a friend decide whether or not to
have an abortion, you need a theory that provides determinate, consistent, and actionable
verdicts.
The Example of Ethics By Authority
We can begin to appreciate the value of these
evaluative principles by putting them to work in a
consideration of a popular, but not necessarily
successful, approach to moral theory.
"Ethics by Authority" refers to a family of
approaches to moral justification which share the
insistence that all the moral explanation and
guidance we need can be located in some
"authority."
Divine Command Theory
DCT is one example of an authority based moral theory.
The key claim of DCT is that, an action is right if and only if [iff] (and
because) God does not command that we not do that action.
One of the virtues of this approach is that it does satisfy MT's practical
aim.
◦ The 10 commandments don't leave a lot of wiggle room.
However, it does nothing to satisfy the explanatory aim.
◦ Why should we honor our parents?
◦ To say that "it pleases God" just pushes the question back a level. Why
does/should it please God? God's willing it is no explanation of why it is
the right thing to will. Insisting that God is good doesn’t help. After all,
goodness is a moral quality which still needs an explanation.
Ethical Relativism
ER is another example.
It's key claim is that an action (performed by a member
of Group G) is right iff the moral norms accepted by G
permit the performance of the action.
Like with DCT, ER seems appropriately action-guiding,
but it doesn’t do any better job with the theoretical
aim.
◦ Why should the fact that a majority of some members of a group believe that
the death penalty is morally acceptable make it so?
◦ Most Europeans used to believe that the earth was flat, but that didn’t make it
so.
What have we seen?
Our consideration of DCT and ER has revealed that
these two very common "moral theories" do not
satisfy the evaluative constraints which moral
theories should satisfy.
At the very least, this fact calls into question the
ability of these two ways of thinking about morality
to do the work we ask of moral theories.
When we review later in the semester a range of
specific moral theories, we will consider whether
they do a better job of satisfying these constraints.