REASON & IMPARTIALITY AS

MINIMUM REQUIRMENTS FOR

MORALITY
 ABSTRACTION

The minimum requirements of Morality are reason & impartiality.

“Moral judgements must be backed up by good reason &
impartiality. “Morality requires the impartial consideration of each
individual’s interests. “Moral judgements, or resolving a dilemma of
moral judgements must be backed by good reason.
 REASON &
IMPARTIALITY

It refer to a mental activity following the basic principle of

consistency, the lack of contradiction between one idea & another.
It avoids ad hominem, by not attacking the personality of the
opponent & instead directing one’s argument against his idea.
Now, let’s consider an example:

Suppose you attend a baseball game, and you discover that the umpire is the uncle of
a player on one of the teams. Most people would agree that the umpire should not
officiate that game. Why? Because there would be a strong appearance of bias,
potentially affecting fair and impartial decision-making.
 A logical, impartial, objective reason avoids ambiguities like
equivocation, circular reasoning, amphibology, etc. Coherent reasoning
is needed to establish truth and meaningfulness of moral judgments.
"Morality requires impartial consideration of each individual's interest In
arriving at a sound moral Judgment you must listen to everyone trying to
speak. Biases and prejudices must be placed between brackets,
suspended. Everyone's message, silent or verbal, should be allowed to
be unveiled. Everyone has always something to tell. No has a monopoly
of the truth. A moral subject must be seen from various perspectives and
standpoints.
 SCOTT RAE'S 7 STEPS OF
MORAL REASONING

FIRST, GATHER THE FACTS, AND INFORMATION.

"The simplest way of clarifying an ethical dilemma is to make

sure the facts are clear.

Ask: Do you have all the facts that are necessary to make a
good decision? What do we know? What do we need to
know?"
 SECOND, DETERMINE THE ETHICAL ISSUES, SIMILAR TO
"STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM."
The competing interests are what create the dilemma. Moral
values and virtues must support competing interests in order for
an ethical dilemma to exist. If you cannot identify the underlying
values/virtues then you do not have an ethical dilemma. Often
people hold these positions strongly and with passion because of
the value/virtue beneath them."
 THIRD, DETERMINE WHAT VIRTUES/PRINCIPLES HAVE A
BEARING ON THE CASE.
This is similar to identifying the relevant factors (internal and external).
"In an ethical dilemma certain values and principles are central to the
competing positions. Identify these. Determine if some should be given
more weight than others. Ask what the source for the principle is
constitution, culture, natural law, religious tradition.. These supplement
biblical principles."
 FOURTH, LIST THE ALTERNATIVES OR DEVELOP A LIST OF
OPTIONS.

"Creatively determine possible courses of action for your dilemma.

Some will almost immediately be discarded but generally the more you
list the greater potential for coming up with a really good one. It will
also help you come up with a broader selection of ideas."
 FIFTH, COMPARE THE ALTERNATIVES WITH THE
VIRTUES/PRINCIPLES.
"This step eliminates alternatives as they are weighed by the moral
principles which have a bearing on the case. Potentially the issue will be
resolved here as all alternatives except one are eliminated. Here you must
satisfy all the relevant virtues and values so at least some of the
alternatives will be eliminated (even if you still have to go on to step 6).
Often here you have to weigh principles and virtues make sure you have
a good reason for each weighing.
 SIXTH, CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES OR TEST THE
DISCLOSE OPTIONS.
"If you the information directly possible consequences include; -family
feel alienated, cultural values have been violated to family may take
patient another hospital patient may 'give up' -patient might be happy
are they finally being told the truth." If possible you continue withholding
information consequences include; -about the patient continues to be
fearful and anxiouS treatment-patient finds out somehow and trust is
family compromiseu are happy cultural values are being respected.
 THE FOLLOWING MAY BE USED TO TEST THE OPTIONS:
(DAVIS, 1999)
Harm test: Does this option do less harm than the alternatives?
Publicity test: Would I want my choice of this option published in the newspaper?
Defensibility test: Could I defend my choice of this option before a congressional committee or
committee of peers?
Reversibility test: Would I still think this option was a good choice if I were adversely affected
by it?
Colleague test: What do my colleagues say when I describe my problem and suggest this
option as my solution?
Professional test: What might my profession's governing body for ethics say about this option?
Organization test: What does my company's ethics officer or legal counsel say about this?
 SEVENTH, MAKE A DECISION.
"Ethical decisions rarely have pain-free solutions -it might be you have to
choose the solution with the least number of problems/painful
consequences. Even when making a "good" decision you might still lose
sleep over it!"
 VALUES
CLARIFICATION

Moral reasoning either arrives at what is right or wrong, good or bad

(valuable or not valuable). The moral reasoning process may thus
follow a model called values clarification.
Values clarification method as a part of the moral reasoning model
consists of a series of questions which one may ask himself or others
in order to arrive at one's true values, values that he really possesses
and acts upon.
The following consists of the steps of the values clarification model
(Raths, L. et al, 1978):

1. Choosing freely. Did you choose this value freely? Where do you suppose you
first got that idea?" or "Are you the only one among your friends who feels this
way?"
2. Choosing from alternatives
"What reasons do you have for your choice?" or "How long did you think about this
problem before you decided?"
3. Choosing after thoughtful consideration
"What would happen if this choice were implemented? If another choice was
implemented?" or What is good about this choice? What could be good about the
other choices?"
4. Prizing and being happy with the choice
Are you happy about feeling this way?" or "Why is this important to you?"
5. Prizing and willing to affirm the choice publicly
Would you be willing to tell the class how you feel?" or "Should someone who feels
like you stand up in public and tell people how he or she feels?"
6. Acting on the choice
What will you do about your choice? What will you do next? or "Are you interested
in joining this group of people who think the same as you do about this?*
7. Acting repeatedly in some pattern of life
Have you done anything about it? Will you do it again?" or "Should you try to get
other people interested in this?"
 CREATIVE
RESPONSIBILITY
When a moral problem comes one's way, which may be communicated
as a silent or verbal message, or through a happening or an incident, the
serious response would be a process of moral reasoning. One may use
the aforementioned reasoning models. One may automatically apply
classic or traditional frameworks or norms. One may be legalist or
situationist. But one significant guide to the moral reasoning process is
what ethicist like Fr. Gorospe (1974) termed as "creative responsibility,"
which has the following characteristics:
 *First, a creative and fitting response involves some form of positive
human action... *Second, to give a fitting human response in some form
of positive action inevitably means "create" a response. The creative
responsibility is something to be discovered and created and is best
envisioned in concrete cases...
*Third, a creative response means one has to choose from among many
possible fitting responses. It is impossible to find only one possible
fitting response to a human situation... *Fourth, in order that creative
response of the individual be authentic he must be in constant dialogue
with the community and culture in which he lives. Creative
responsibility is not only individual but collective; it is co-responsibility.
Creative responsibility is responding silently or verbally to a call and address an ethical
problem creatively by considering all possible points of view, thinking outside the box,
using relevant frameworks. There are always available norms or rules to follow, but one
should apply them creatively, apply them in the light situations and conditions and be
ready to bend the rule where there is no other remedy in sight.

One technique of coming up with a creative response is applying the phenomenological

method of suspending Judgment, placing former knowledge, biases, prejudices, etc.
between brackets, letting the thing be or show itself as itself.
 THANK YOU
ARKIDS!
Presentation by: Jessa May Z. Dela Cruz