FEELING
MORAL &
DECISION
MAKING
 

FEELING
◦ is the nominalization
the nominalization of
 of the verb to feel.
◦
The word was first used in the English
the English  
language to
language  to describe the physical
sensation of touch
of touch through
 through
either experience
either  experience or
 or perception
 perception..
◦   The word is also used to describe
describe
experiences other than the physical
of 
sensation of touch, such as " a feeling of 

warmth"" and of sentience

warmth of sentience in
 in general.
 

FEELING
◦ Play a major role in most of the ethical
decisions people make.
◦ Most people do not realize how much
their emotions direct their moral
choices.
◦ But experts think it is impossible to
make any important moral judgments
without emotions.
 

In   Latin,
Latin,   “ sentire
”meant   to fe feel
el,,
hear or smell. In
psycholo
psyc hology,gy, the
word is usuall lly
y
reserved for
the conscious
the  conscious su
bjective  experie
bjective experie
nce of emotion.
 

No one can deny the fact

◦

that when the human

person is placed in a moral
dilemma, his or her
decisions can also be
greatly affected
feelings. by his/her
 

The moral decision that man makes will definitely not

be fully objective.
◦For instance,   one’s   decision regarding the morality
of death penalty will vary if he is placed in a
 situation
murderous wherein
act. A his family
person is greatly
who is neveraffected
a victim by
of 
any crime may view death penalty as morally
unacceptable. At the same time, a person who has
a very close relative indicted for robbery may cry
forr fo
fo forg
rgiv
iven
enes
esss wh
whil
ile
e th
thos
ose
e wh
who
o do no
nott ha
have
ve su
such
ch
may demand punishment.

In this regard,
feelings a moral decision can be a product of
or emotions.
 

◦
During the early part of
philosophizing, David Hume
(1711-1776) believed virtue

Lisike
in co
conf
trnfor
utormi
h,mity
tymtoorare
reas
lityason
on.
is.
discerned merely by ideas.
In orderder to di
disstin
tingu
guis
ishh th
the
e
good and bad, we have to
consider the reason alone.
 

•   Phil
Philos
oso
oph
pher
erss duri
ring
ng ththee ti
tim
me of
Hume,   place
placed d gr
grea
eate
terr em
emphphas
asis
is
on the prominence of reason over 
feelings.
•  Western   ph philosophers were
actually   rea
reac
cting
ting to the
the posi
positi
tion
on
held
held by the
the chu
church
rch scho
schollars
ars who
assert
asse rted
ed that
that reli
religi
giou
ouss ap
apol
olog
ogis
ist,
t,
moral decisions must be rooted in
 religious laws and doctrines.
 

Duri
Du
Plaring
Plato
tong(42
th
the
e an
(423BCanci
cien
3BC-34 entt ) pe
-347BC
7BC) peririod
would
wou od,
ld,
argue
gue tha
that th
the
e func
functi tio
on of
reasons is to rule the
appetites and emotions. He
held that the mind or the
intellect, which is the highest
level of the soul, is that
immortal part of the soul
that gives man the capacity
for truth and wisdom.
 

◦ Then, the Stoics
the  Stoics upheld
 upheld that
human person must be able
to learn to control his
passion with reason in order 
to live a moral life.
 

◦   For Hume, the central fact about

ethics is that moral judgements are
formed not by reason alone but
through feelings.
 

Hume held that moral decision would always

involve feelings or emotions.
◦ For instance, because I will feel sympathetic pain on
my friend whose brother is brutally killed by a

g unman.
condemnation I on willthe saction
urely ofdthe
evekiller.
lop However,
a moraif l
 somebody will do charitable deed of feeding a
 street child, I will surely feel sympathetic pleasure for 
that person. Such pleasure originates from my moral
approval of the good deed.
 

   From the point of view of Hume,

moral sentiments are found in all
 people. Everyone has instinctive
capacity to praise and uphold

moral actions performed by person

to others.
 

◦  According to Hume, basing

ourselves on experience, our moral
decisions are based not on
 judgementss based on reason but on
 judgement
fee
fe elin
lings. More so
so,, our exp
experie
erien
nce
tel
ells
ls us that we have sy symp
mpaathe
hettic
feelings of pleasure and pain in
response to a range of virtuous
characteristics
characteristics that people possess.
 

◦ It is obvious that Hume, believed

that
th at feel
feelin
ings
gs and
and agre
agreea
eabl
blen
enes
esss
can be considered as a clear
crit
riterion of moral judgment. He
believed that   be
behavior is
considered virtuous if it is useful or 
afgfe
a recete
adble byto thpeeop
alc
etiow
n hobea
inrg
e
considered.
 

  Then, some religious moralist

◦

critique   Hume’s  moral point of view

because
 role Humeindid
of God not include the
determining the
mora
mo ralit
lity
y of   one’s   action.   For
For this
this
reason, the religious moralist would
consider   Hume’s  moral philosophy
to be  weak   and groundless.
 

 An
cl
claiAmerican
aime
med d abou
about philosopher
t the
the fe
feel
elin has
gs another
ings na
name
med,d,
Thomas Nagel. He believed that
morality must be root oted
ed not in the
feelings or emotions because that will
make
ma ke mo mora
rali
lity
ty susubj
bjec
ecti
tive
ve.. Mora
Morali
lity
ty
must be objective.   Also, according to
him,   no matter how great our feelings
on a particular situation can be, such

feelings will
for univer salnot
universal be
alconsidered
moral
mor princi
principle as basis
ple   because
FEELINGS   MAY   BE  DIFFERENT  FROM   THE
FEELINGS OF OTHERS.
 

◦
Our feelining
gs may be irr rra
ational.
They may be product of prejudice,
selfishness or cultural conditioning.
 

◦ From the point of view of Nagel,

the basis of morality must be on
the
the happ
happinines
esss th
that
at   one’s   action
may cause to others. If an action is
going to cause harm to others, rs,
then the action is considered evil.
 

In some situations, we may ask what is a

moral truth?
◦ It has to be noted that discovering
that discovering truth can
only be made possible if one is guided by
reason.   Most philosophers would consider
reason.
this as essence of morality.   h e m or
o r a ll y
r ig h t t h in g is to d o a c t io n s t h a t is
s up
up p
poo r te
te d b y r at
at i o na
n a l a rg
r g um
u m e nt
nts
 

MORAL
MAKINGDECISION
◦ making is the ability to
produce a reasonable
and   defensible answer to
and
an ethical question or
case.
 

 It must
still be noted
be valid that every reason is good. There may
reasons.
◦   It is important that   one’s  know how to morally good in
deci
de cisi
sion
on mamaki
king
ng.. In di
disc
scer
erni
ning
ng over
over th
the
e fact
facts,
s, it is
impo
im portrtan
antt that
that dec
decisisio
ion
n mak
makerer mu
must
st be impa
impart
rtia
iall to
certain
certai n issues.
◦   One should be able to consider that   every   moral 
decision   is  equally 
◦   important   to   others . In th
this
is re
regar
gard,
d, no de
deci
cisi
sion
onss
should be given more favor than the others.
 

◦ Nagel points out that it is quite

difficult to establish a universal moral
decision because
decision  because there are
many disagreements among those

who accept morality in general

and about what in particular right
or wrong.
 

◦The difficulty in making decisions is that

the situation that requires our decision

may
Morehave already
so, the mannerplaced us in dilemma.
of deciding may
place us again in separate dilemma. And
so to avoid falling into dilemma after
dilemma, we have to address this order to
serve as a model that can be used in
assurance of our decisions:
◦
 

Before making moral

◦

deci
de cisi
sio
ons
ns,, it is im
impo
port
rtan
antt 1.
that necessary facts be
gathered.
GATHER
◦ Ethi
Ethica
call di
resolved
dile
lemm
mmasas ca
simply
can
n be
by
THE FACTS
clarifying the facts of the
case question.
 

◦ Ethical issues are 2.

consid
con sidere
ered
d as co
compe
mpetin
ting
g DEFINE
interest or goods.
◦ This will help the person to THE
ana
an aly
lyze
ze th
the
e int
nter
ere
est th
that
at
are
are cont
another.
ntra
rad
dic
icti
tin
ng to one
ETHICAL
ISSUES
 

◦ It is im
imp
porta
rtant to dete
determ
rmin
ine
e 3.
different ethical guidelines to REVIEW
determine which ethical
guideline must be applied to
the issue.
RELEVANT
◦ Constitutional and natural law
ETHICAL
must also be taken into
account.
GUIDELINES
 

◦ In as much no one can really

be an expert in making moral
decisions, it is important to 4.
consult to persons who are OBTAIN
competent in terms of morality.
◦ One may consult religious
CONSULTATION
leader, well revered teacher, or
an elder in society who can
have more wisdom than us.
 

◦   Mak
akin
ing
g mora
rall decis
isio
ion
ns 5.
requir
require
e crcrea
eati
tive
ve th
thin
inki
king
ng LIST THE
which will help one ALTERNATIVE
identify various alternative COURSES OF
courses of action. ACTION
 

6.
◦ From the listed COMPARE THE
alternatives, the next step ALTERNATIVE
is to co
conn
nnec
ectt alte
altern
rnat
ativ
ives
es WITH THE
with moral principles. PRINCIPLES.
 

◦  If the moral principles do

not yet provide clear 7.
decisions, it is better to WEIGH
tak
ta ke note of th
the
e po
posi
siti
tiv
ve THE

and
consequences. negative CONSEQUENCES
 

8.
◦ After weighing a decision has
to be made. Notice that in an
ethical dilemma, one has to MAKE
A
unde
un derg
rgo
o the
the pain
painfu
full pr
proc
oces
esss

o f critical studies and

analyses. DECISION