Ethical Thinking in the Liberal Arts

ETHICAL THINKING IN LIBERAL ARTS 2

Ethical Theory Paper
Joshua Odusola-Stepnen
PHI-305-Ethical Thinking in the Liberal Arts
Grand Canyon University
March 15, 2021.

Ethical Thinking in Liberal Arts

Part I
Comment by Jon Pruitt: Use style guides given here:
https://www.gcumedia.com/lms-resources/student-success-center/v3.1/#/tools/writing-center/12/30/1404

notice paragraph indents, headings, running heads, and so on. Apply throughout.

Ethical Theory

Ethics is the branch of psychology philosophy concerned with how we decide what is morally right or wrong. Ethical theory is the effort to understand moral concepts and justify moral principles. There are different ethical theories. There are four main theories: utilitarianism, deontology, consequential theory, and virtue theory (Melden, 2013). Utilitarianism theory emphasizes upholding actions that cause happiness and refrain from actions that cause unhappiness or harm. Deontology theory suggests that a theory’s morality should be based on whether that action is right or wrong. The consequential theory holds that the consequences of a person’s conduct should be used as the basis for any judgment. The virtue theory holds that moral value is central to ethics. Comment by Jon Pruitt: How would this be different than another ethical theory? Comment by Jon Pruitt: How is this different than any other ethical theory? Comment by Jon Pruitt: Missing strong thesis statement
Moral judgment is a judgment that deals with moral values and evaluates what is right and wrong. It has many natures, including its being a social character. The social character of a person voluntarily or involuntarily affects other’s interests. Moral judgment is also obligatory. If a judgment is perceived to be right, we feel the moral obligation to do it, if it is otherwise wrong, we tend to desist from it. Moral judgment is also intuitive and inferential. There are no defined criteria that a moral judgment should follow. However, a good moral judgment should be logical, based on facts, and based on sound principles. The goal is to make judgments based on logic, sound principles, and facts rather than mere sentiments and emotions. Comment by Jon Pruitt: Awkward/unclear Comment by Jon Pruitt: Run on Comment by Jon Pruitt: According to who?
Moral judgment can be made through different methods. One of them includes deliberate moral judgment. In this method, people assess the potential cause of wrong morality and its effects. This method aims to minimize harm and maximize other’s well-being by assessing all the facts before making a moral judgment. It follows the criteria of moral judgment by basing it on logic, facts, and correctness. The next method is intuition. Under this method, moral judgment is based on one’s intuition of what is right or wrong. A person perceives that a certain act is immoral if it does not align with their socially learned intuitions, even if the act causes no harm. It does not consider the logic or facts. Comment by Jon Pruitt: Why only wrongess?

Part II

Metaethics

According to Colin & David (2019), Metaethics-Ethics attempts to understand the semantic, psychological, and metaphysical of moral thought, talk, and practice. In simple terms, it is the study of moral thoughts and language. Instead of addressing what is right or wrong, it addresses what morality is. It explores the connection between values, human motivation, and reasons for action. It also provides reasons why people do or refrain from doing certain things. It involves four theories: naturalism, on-naturalism, emotivism, and prescriptivism. Meta-Ethics is important in making moral judgments. Unlike normative ethics, meta-ethics provides a better ground for making sound judgments. By exploring why people do or refrain from doing certain things, one can understand their ways of reasoning and their basis of moral judgment. Comment by Jon Pruitt: Awkward/typo?
Additionally, Metaethics compels the decision-maker to understand that judgment should not only be based on whether something is right or wrong but to understand the facts behind it. One of the basics of moral judgment is that all the facts be put into consideration. Therefore, applying meta-ethics in moral judgment helps the decision-maker understand all the facts before issuing a moral judgment. Comment by Jon Pruitt: good

Part III

Results of Ethical Thinking in Practical, Moral Action

Today, the main question is identifying whether we are ethical while dealing with a situation that requires moral action. Ethical thinking or decision-making involves a series of steps such as identifying the problem, identifying the ethical issues involved, and settling on the best cause of action. Morals are the standard behaviors that must be upheld for people to live collaboratively. Ethical decision-making entails four components:, moral judgment, moral motivation, moral sensitivity, and moral action. Moral judgment involves analyzing which of the possible solutions to a situation have moral justification. The decision-maker hence settles on the solution that has a moral value. Comment by Jon Pruitt: need to cite source on this or otherwise support these categories Comment by Jon Pruitt: should avoid listing when possible. Explain and support
Moral sensitivity or awareness is the ability to point out that a situation has a moral issue. The individual, therefore, approaches the situation from a moral perspective. Moral motivation is the decision to choose a decision that represents a moral value over others that depict a different thing. It involves choosing a moral value. A moral act is the final individual’s behavior based on the preceding components. Understanding a moral act involves evaluating three concepts, its objective, the intention for doing it, and the circumstances leading to its performance. Ethical thinking, therefore, influences an individual’s moral action. Comment by Jon Pruitt: getting away from the conceptual issues of how ethical thinking results in moral action. Too much going on these two paragraphs.

How Ethical Thinking is Applied in my Personal Life.

Ethics demand certain interaction with the world around us. For instance, when one wants to cut down a tree, he thinks of the benefits he will get from the tree. However, viewing it from a different perspective that trees form a vital part of the ecosystem and sustain human life, I may want to reconsider the decision. I depict moral motivation by choosing to make a moral choice rather than a self-centred one. People in the professional field like myself are usually in a dilemma of making an ethical decision and the decision we think is right. I always choose to stick to my ethics regardless of whether they will yield positive or negative results.

References
In McPherson, T. C., & In Plunkett, D. (2019). The Routledge handbook of metaethics. Comment by Jon Pruitt: Incomplete citation
Melden, A. I., & Hoopla digital. (2013). Ethical theories: A book of readings. United States: Koebel Press.
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