Ethics, morality, and decision making
Most conscientious people are very intentional about attempting to lead a moral or ethical life. Some think of morality as something which is personal or based on religious doctrine whereas ethics may be the standard of good and bad in a certain community or social settings with or without a reference to a divine being.
I had the good fortune to spend 4 years of undergraduate school and 3 years at a theological seminary to study the works of thinkers on theology and philosophy. Now I depend on individuals such as Cornell West, professor at Union Seminary, Daryl Davis, Maya Angelou, Sonia Sotomayor, Van Jones and other philosophers and theologians to challenge my thinking about what it means to a moral or ethical member of the body politic; a responsible person who attempts to pay respect to the fact that every action and inaction affects, at some level, the entire universe.
Although I read a great deal, I also depend on such individuals as Sean Iling, Van Jones, Kristina Tippett and others who host podcasts.
Some very profound thinkers suggest that pragmatism should form the base for ethical decisions.
Some, writing on the web page of plato.Stanford.edu, suggests that the core of pragmatism as Pierce originally conceived it was the Pragmatic maxim, a rule for clarifying the meaning of hypotheses by tracing their ‘practical consequences’ - their implications for experience in specific situations.”
There are many other schools of thought or philosophies regarding moral or ethical actions. Zeno of Citium may be the most well-known of the stoics who posited that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge of the divine reason. As is obvious, one is confronted with the terms knowledge and the phase divine reason, the meanings of which are open to diverse and even opposing interpretations. Even if one posits that divine reason is that which exists in harmony with the natural order or nature, one has to deal with the fact we humans have already deeply altered the so-called natural order.
Basing one’s decisions on the practical consequences of decisions poses at least two major challenges. First is the challenge of “truth” or what I will refer to as shared reality. It is always the case that there are many different versions of reality as are experienced by all the historical and physical parts of a particular brain in a particular moment. In the age of the internet and the wider availability of printed matter, radio and television it is possible to share one’s particular reality with a significant number of people. Some messages or posts go viral, ensuring a particular reality is shared with millions of people.
‘There are also many different opinions about the existence of what is divine reason and, thus, what actions may be moral or immoral. If I cared to spend the time and energy I could access many opinions about what various posited divine beings supposedly say about the morality or ethics of abortion, the death penalty, same sex behavior, decriminalization of recreational drugs, military assistance by the United States to Taiwan should the Chinese government decide to use military force to take full control of the government of Taiwan, what history is taught, tax on food and many other subjects. Many opinions of what is moral or ethical are based on the religious beliefs developed before many scientific “truths” were evident. These beliefs may have very little to do with practical consequences.
Jeremy Bentham proposed that one make ethical decisions based on the greatest good for the greatest number. One might, using this guide, see the decision to use nuclear bombs in WWII as ethical or moral. Yet, unleashing the power of nuclear weapons has had long term consequences as many nations now have the potential of using nuclear weapons. Some would argue that in recent history mandating vaccinations with some medical exemptions, while opposed on the basis of freedom, offered the best opportunity to gain control of the spread of the pandemic. Others argue that it is too soon to know the long-term consequences of the vaccinations.
Obviously, it is not within the parameters of a blog to critically review all philosophies or theologies.. Neither is it within the scope of a blog to pen a definitive proposal for arriving at a shared reality for the majority of the population.
Yet, just because these complex issues are often imbued with the passion of religious beliefs and vested interests, does not lessen our responsibility as elders to guide our children in articulating a framework for approximating decisions which are moral and/or ethical. Perhaps there are some basic principles or guidelines which might serve us in this endeavor. These might include striving to determine:
o if one is being as honest as one can regarding motives for a particular action.
o the short- and long-term consequences of one’s decision, who and what is potentially affected in positive and negative ways.
o if one is treating all life as sacred allowing for the possibility that there may be a difference of opinion about when life begins or ends. Is one talking merely about human life? When does human life begin?
o if one is treating one’s wants or needs as more important than the wants or needs of others.
o if there is a way to avoid making decisions which honor some core values while violating others.
o if a decision values quantity over quality (another vague and often disputed terms).
o if a majority or consensus decision making model works best? This question begs the question of the meaning of best. Best for whom?
o if one has the luxury of waiting to make a decision. For example, if a house is on fire and one can rescue only one person within a three-minute time period one has to make an instant decision knowing there are no right or wrong answers.
o if one is valuing objects over the life of a person or even animal.
Perhaps most importantly it is important to accept that our attempts, at best, will be imperfect; that there may not be an absolute rights or wrongs; that all of us can make a sincere effort to consider the above as we stumble thorough this brief human journey.
Written May 29, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
RSS Feed