What is Morality?
In our everyday discussions we use morality and ethics synonymously. But they are quite different
from each other. The word ‘morality’ refers to the customs and practices of an individual or a
social group where as the word ‘ethics’ is used to refer to a set of moral principles and rules
explicitly held by that individual or social group. Morality is often used in relative sense of one’s
own culture, religion or ethnicity whereas ethics cuts across and transcends such considerations
and refers to universality. Ethics is also defined as science of human conduct. It is not only
collection of do’s and don’ts, but a system of principles and values intended to make human social
living as civilized and happy as possible. Ethics is not only concerned with what we should do or
judging human practices as right and wrong, but also concerned with what we should do to change
certain morally objectionable social practices towards creating a better world.
The nature of Moral Statements
Moral statements are different from factual ones. Factual statements are descriptive in nature while
moral ones are prescriptive or normative. A normative statement expresses a value judgement of
some kind and its correctness is determined is determined by reference to an ethical norm or
standard. A normative statement implies or asserts that something is good or bad, right or wrong,
for example, you should not lie to your friend. While the factual statements are value neutral. They
include reports, descriptions, and assertions of empirical or logical facts. They make claim about
certain facts that are proved to be correct or incorrect by means of observation, experiment, or
research that might confirm them. Example- the sun rises in the east.
Role of reason in Ethics
In ethics, we are concerned not only with doing things right but also with doing right things for
the right reasons. To do good and to be moral require doing something for a particular reason and
for the right reason. That’s why philosophers like Kant and Aristotle considers ethics as a rational
enterprise. An act is justified by virtue of the reasons in support of it. Ones own interests and
opinions are not the sole concerns of morality. Morality is rational which mean that we are
autonomous moral agents who can decide for ourselves what we ought to do and what we not
ought to do, and justify our actions on the basis of reasons and hold responsibility for the
consequences of our actions.
Moral statements are different form mere expression of personal tastes and distastes. For example,
if someone says ‘I like apples’ he or she need not to provide reasons for it but if someone says
‘lying is morally wrong’ then he/she must provide reasons for it. People will only accept his
statement if the provided reason is sound otherwise people will discard it. These things are not
there with expression.
Moral Reasoning
Reasoning is a method of problem solving. It is a fundamental activity that is used regularly for
acquiring knowledge and finding truths in our day to day life. Moral reasoning is a process of
deriving moral truth that is not directly given to us. It involves offering reasons for or against moral
beliefs in an attempt to show that those beliefs are either correct or mistaken. Thus reasoning
occupies major role in or decision making process. Moral reasoning consists of the formulation of
moral principles, the development of moral arguments and the assessment of the moral worth of
actions of persons and activities and policies of institutions and organizations. Moral reasoning
employs principles and arguments in order to convince others that a certain claim is the best one
to hold.
Moral principles are concerned with the behavior of people whose actions can greatly benefit or
injure people. The conventional moral rules against lying and stealing and murdering deal actions
that can hurt people. Moral principles or rules are used to distinguish matters of moral concern
from those that are not of moral concern. They tell us which acts are morally right and which are
wrong.
Moral Judgement
Moral judgement is an act of expressing a morally sensible opinion, or conclusion about an issue
under consideration. Moral judgements are different from mere expression of personal preference.
An adequate moral judgement must be based on dictates of reason. When making a moral
judgement two things are to be considered 1) whether the information pertaining to the facts is
accurate and reliable and 2) whether the actions conform to generally accepted moral principles.
Conflicts in moral judgements occur when there is inadequate information or when moral
principles are inappropriate to the situation. A person of sound judgement is one who can estimate,
appraise, and evaluate with tact and discernment.