Moral Reasoning in Ethical Issues and skepticism in ethics

impartial consideration

Moral judgments must be backed by good

reasons; and second, morality requires the

________ of each individual’s

interests.

reason

If we want to discover the truth, we

must let our feelings be guided as

much as possible by __________-

impartiality

this requires to not treat the

members of particular groups as inferior,

and thus it condemns forms of

discrimination like sexism and racism

conscientious moral agent

who is concerned impartially with the interests of

everyone affected by what he or she does;

ethical egoism

people who believe that we have no duties to others, ought to pursue his or her own self interest exclusively.

psychological egoism

asserts that each person does in fact pursue his or her own

self- interest exclusively.

psychological egoism

it is not a credible theory.

Moral theorizing need not be a naïve endeavor,

based on an unrealistic view of human nature.

altruism

he belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others.

Altruism Is Self- Defeating.

The policy of “looking out for others” is an offensive

intrusion into other people’s privacy.

Ayn Rand’s Argument

It says to a person: Your life is merely something

to be sacrificed.

Ethical Egoism as Compatible with Commonsense Morality

Ethical Egoists would say that all these duties are

ultimately derived from the one fundamental principle

of self-interest.

Ethical Egoism Endorses

Wickedness.

allows bad actions if they help you, which many people find problematic.

Ethical Egoism Is

Logically Inconsistent.

no theory can be true if it contradicts itself.

Ethical Egoism Is Unacceptably Arbitrary.

It advocates dividing the world into two categories of

people— ourselves and everyone else—and it urges

us to regard the interests of those in the first group as

more important than the interests of those in the

second group.

cultural relativism

Different cultures have different

moral codes. Therefore, there are no

universal moral truths, the customs of

different societies are all that exist.