UNIT III: THE ACT

LESSON 1: FEELINGS AS INSTINCTIVE AND TRAINED RESPONSE TO MORAL DILEMMAS

Philosophical Insights on Feelings

Ancient to contemporary philosophers discussed the role and importance of feelings in moral
decision-making.
Hume and the Philosophy of the Mind

- Philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist David Hume (1711-1776) famously placed himself
in opposition to most moral philosophers, ancient and modern, who argued to regulate actions
using reason and that reason has dominion over feelings or emotions. Hume is best known in
ethics for asserting four theses:
1. Reason alone cannot be a motive to the will, but rather is the “slave of the passions”
2. Moral distinctions are not derived from reason.
3. Moral distinctions are derived from the moral sentiments feelings of approval (esteem, praise) and
disapproval (blame) felt by spectators who contemplate a character trait or action.
4. While some virtues and vices are natural, others (including justice) are artificial. (Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016)

Hume maintained that, although reason is needed to discover the facts of any concrete situation,
reason alone is insufficient to yield a judgment that something is virtuous or vicious (Hume, 2003,
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016). Hume sided with the moral sense theorists that a person
gains awareness of moral good and evil by experiencing the pleasure of approval and the uneasiness of
disapproval.

According to Hume’s “Theory of the Mind”, humans have what he called passions (which he used
to describe emotions or feelings). He further classified passion as direct and indirect.

Direct passions are caused directly by the sensation of pain or pleasure; the passion that “arises
immediately from good or evil, from pain or pleasure” that we experience or expect to experience. For
example, desire is a direct passion because it is an immediate response to the pleasure we expect
to feel. Other direct passions include aversion, hope, fear, grief, and joy. (Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, 2016; Cohon, 2010)

Indirect passions are caused by the sensation of pain or pleasure derived from some other idea or
impression. For example, pride is a passion that emanated from the pleasure you get for possessing
something admirable (it could be intellect, physique, property, family, etc.). Pride, therefore, is but a
result of the person, the object of the passion, and quality of the object. Other indirect passions are
humility, ambition, vanity, love, hatred, envy, pity, malice, generosity. (Blattner, 2017)

However, Hume acceded that there are instances wherein passion can be unreasonable. He said
this could happen when we make a mistake in judgment or our opinion is wrong. Strictly speaking, it is
not passion that can be called unreasonable in these instances because it was the judgment or the
opinion that was wrong in the first place. Once the judgment or opinion is corrected, “passion yields to
reason without any opposition.” (Norton & Norton, 2007).

Scheler and the Philosophy of Feelings

Max Ferdinand Scheler was an important German Ethical philosopher distinguished for his
contributions in phenomenology, ethics, and philosophical anthropology (Davis and Steinbock, 2016). As
a phenomenologist, Scheler sought to correlates of know what comprised the structures of
consciousness, including that of mental acts such as feeling, thinking, resolve, etc-as well as the inherent
objects or c these mental acts such as values, concepts, and plans (Frings, 2013).
In Max Ferdinand Scheler’s philosophy, the emotion is the most important aspect in human
existence (Dy, 1986). Scheler asserted that emotions/feelings are inheretit, objective, and it exists even
if you have not experienced it before (a priori). He also claimed that feelings are independent of the mind;
that it corresponds to the Divine Plan (Chuhina, 1993, Frings, © 2017: Tymieniecka, 1993). According to
Scheler, human feelings are not chaotic. It is actually strict, exact, and objective. It follows a peculiar form
of laws that you cannot avoid and is obligated to follow. He firmly rejected the idea that feelings are in the
subconscious and asserted that it is actually the “purest sphere” of human consciousness. (Tymieniecka,
1993)

Scheler presented four strata of feelings. He claimed that these strata or levels are constant and it
follows and exact order of importance. He called these levels of feelings as the “stratification model of
emotive life”.

1. Sensual feelings – involve bodily pleasures or pain

2. Vital feelings – are the life functions such as health, sickness, energy, fatigue, etc.
3. Psychic feelings – are about aesthetics, justice, and knowledge (scientific).
4. Spiritual feelings – deal with the Divine.

According to Scheler, of the four, it is spiritual feelings alone that is intentional. This means spiritual
feelings are directed to a particular special object or a higher being that he attributed to as the Divine.
Scheler believed that values of the holy are the highest of all values because it has the ability to endure
through time. Thus, since it possessed the nature of intent, Scheler philosophized that among all the four
levels, spiritual feelings is the most important (Moran and Parker, 2015).
Difference between Responses Based on Reason and on Feelings

On the opposite side of the discussion about the role of feelings in making moral decisions are those
who argued on the use of reason over feelings. Philosopher and Professor Dr. James Rachels asserted
that in moral reasoning, you could not rely on your feelings no matter how powerful these feelings may
be. Feelings can be irrational and merely a product of your prejudice, selfishness, or cultural conditioning.
The morally right thing to do is one that is supported by rational arguments. An argument is reasonable
if:

a. The facts are correct.

b. The moral principles are correctly applied.
c. Each individual’s well-being is treated equally important.

What is the Role of Feelings in Decision-making

Reason plays a role in making a moral decision. Philosophers encourage the use of reason in
making moral decisions. However, it should be noted too that our moral compasses are also powerfully
influenced by feelings. Hume claimed that in any given situation a person would act based on emotions
rather than reason (Bucciarelli, et al., 2008).

On several instances, reasoning in moral decisions is preceded by an initial intuition or gut-feel

(Haidt, 2012).

20th century philosopher Alfred Jules Ayer described two elements in moral judgment: the
“emotive” and the “prescriptive” elements (2012).
The emotive element in moral decisions meant expressing positive feelings towards a particular
act. For example, “Kindness is good” meant you feel positive about acts of kindness. When you feel
positively about an act, you do not only do the act you also feel this act should be encouraged that others
may follow.

Prescriptive – comes in such as saying, “Be kind to others.” The prescriptive element, in a sense,
is an instruction or prescription of a particular behavior.

Why feelings can be obstacles to making the right decisions?

There are three central features as to why emotions can be obstacles in making the right decisions

1. Its non-deliberate nature

2. Its partial nature (Been Zeev, 1997); and
3. It is capricious (Pizarro, 2000)
THE NON-DELIBERATE NATURE OF FEELINGS

Deliberate – means the act was intentional, planned, with conscious effort.

Non-deliberate – is the contrary term that denotes spontaneous actions. It is c something without thinking
through.

The Partial Nature of Feelings

Emotions notoriously play favorites. It operates on a principle called “the law of concern” (Fridja,
1988) where emotions give focus only on matters of personal interest However, emotions are quiet when
it is of no personal concern.

There are two aspects in the partial nature of emotions

1. Decisions based on feelings focus only on a narrow area, and

2. It reflects personal and self-interest perspectives

Emotions influence our attention. Thus, it governs what attracts and holds attention Emotions make
us preoccupied with specific matters and we become oblivious to everything else (Harvard Business
Review, 2015). The feeling of “being in love” is an example.

The second partial nature of emotion is that it draws its perspective from personal interest. It
addresses subjective concerns and takes action primarily to satisfy such concerns (O’Donohue, &
Kitchener, 1996). A highly partial perspective is interested only in the immediate situation; no rational
explanations from a broader perspective are relevant.

The Capricious Nature of Feelings

The third problem with emotions is that it rises up for arbitrary reasons. Aspects or situations that
have nothing to do in moral situations could rile up your emotion, and this emotion will certainly influence
your subsequent moral judgment (Pizarro, 2000).

How Emotions Help In Making the Right Decisions

Cognitive Although several studies point out the negative effects of emotion in making decisions,
contemporary research on how emotions facilitate reasoning is also catching up. Several studies suggest
that emotions are the foundation of all our and behavioral processes; and emotional responses often
guide a person in making beneficial choices without any conscious reasoning (Arnold, 1960: Damasio,
2003).

This work, and the subsequent works that followed, indicated that emotions could help in making
better choices, even without consciously reasoning these choices out. Other studies further suggested
that negative feelings make the perfect occasion to develop emotional responses and align it with moral
attitudes and goals (Gilovich and Medvec, 1995).

There are at least three ways that feelings, especially negative feelings, help in making the right
decisions:

1. It signals the need to adjust behavior.

2. It can help us learn from our mistakes.
3. Emotional responses can be reshaped as time pass by.

Emotions are powerful and unavoidable. Upsurge of feelings is natural. However, it should not
control behavior nor should it prevent reason. What we do with our feelings is what makes us ethical or
unethical.
 LESSON 2: REASON AND IMPARTIALITY AS REQUIREMENTS FOR ETHICS

Is reason a requirement for morality?

A relevant definition of reason to our topic is “the power of the mind to think, understand, and form
judgments by a process of logic” (Merriam-Webster ©2017). Immanuel Kant, argued that reason alone
is the basis for morality, and once the person understood this basic requirement for morality, he or she
would see that acting morally is the same as acting rationally (Beck, 1960). In Kant’s view, the definition
of morality alone shows that a person must decide what to do.

Is impartiality a requirement for morality?

Impartiality is a broad concept, but it is also identified as a core value in professional codes of
ethics. Impartiality is commonly understood as a principle of justice. It denotes that decisions should be
“based on objective criteria rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring to benefit one person
over another for improper reasons” (Jollimore, 2011); impartiality stresses everyone ought to be given
equal importance and not favor one class (people, animals, or things) in a capricious way.

How is impartiality a requirement for morality?

According to philosopher and professor Dr. James Rachels, for your decision to be moral.
Impartial choice involves basing your decision on how all the persons in the situation will be affected, and
not to the advantage of a particular party that you favor.

“Are reason and impartiality a requirement for morality?”

- Dr. Rachels (2004) said: morality “at the very least is the effort to guide one’s action based on the
most logical choice (reason) while giving equal importance to the interests of each person affected
by your decisions (impartiality)”.

Most ethical decisions lie in a gray area. Often times you are faced with a situation where there
are no clear-cut or obvious choices; the situation cannot be determined by simple quantitative analysis
of data.

Ethical decision-making requires interpretation of the situation, application of your values, and
estimating the consequences of your action. It is about choosing between good and better or bad and
worse.
Ethical decision-making is a process of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in a manner that
is consistent with moral principles (University of California, 2004).

Seven steps to help you make better decisions.

The 7-step model for ethical decision-making
1. Gather the Facts
Do not jump to conclusions. Ask questions (who, what, where, when, how. And why). There may be
instances when facts are hard to find or are not available because of the uncertainty that surround
ethical issues. Nevertheless, gather as many facts as you can. Clarify what assumptions you are
making.

2. Identify the Stakeholders

Identify all the persons involved and will be affected in an ethical situation. Who are the primary
stakeholders? Who are the secondary stakeholders? Why are they stakeholders in the issue? Get
the proper perspective. Try to see the situation through the eyes of the people affected.

3. Articulate the Dilemma

Once you have gathered the facts and identified the stakeholders, it is important that you express the
ethical dilemma. What are the competing values? The purpose of articulating the dilemma is to make
sure that you understand the situation and the moral conflict you are facing. Awareness and
comprehension are important in making the right decision, especially when there are lives that will be
affected.
4. List the Alternatives
Think creatively about potential actions, as there may be choices you neglected. This will help ensure
that you have not been pushed back into a corner.

5. Compare the Alternatives with the Principles

In decision-making, specify the relevant values that you want to uphold in making your decision. Then
compare whether your alternative actions are in line with your values. Identifying the values and
comparing your action with these values are important because it will help identify if your alternative
action is illegal or unethical, thus making this action easy to discard.

6. Weigh the Consequences

When considering the effects of your actions, filter your choices to determine if your options will violate
ethical values. Determine how all the stakeholders will be affected by your decision.

7. Make a decision Remember, deliberation cannot go on forever. You must avoid “paralysis by
analysis” or the state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is
never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. There is no easy, painless decision to a moral
dilemma.

LESSON 3: MORAL COURAGE

Moral courage is the courage to put your moral principles into action even though you may be in
doubt, are afraid, or face adverse consequences.
Moral courage involves careful deliberation and mastery of the self. Moral courage is essential not
for only a virtuous life, but also a happy one because integrity is essential to self-esteem.
According to philosopher Mark Johnson, acting morally often requires more than just strength of
character (Drumwright and Murphy, 2004). Johnson added it is important to have “an ability to
imaginatively discern various possibilities for acting within a given situation to envision the potential
help and harm that are likely to result from a given action (Johnson, 1994).” This ability is called moral
imagination.

Moral imagination is “ability in particular circumstances to discover and evaluate possibilities not merely
determined by that circumstance, or limited by its operative mental mode or merely framed by a set of
rules or rule-governed concerns (Werhane, 1999
How can one practice moral courage? This is where the “will” comes into play. It takes determination
and willpower to act on and stand by your moral principles.

What is “will” Generally, “will” is the mental capacity to act decisively on one’s desire. It is the faculty of
the mind to initiate action after coming to a resolution following careful deliberation (Joachim, 1952).
Within Ethics, “will” is an important topic along with reason because of its role in enabling a person to act
deliberately.

On the concept of “will” in Classical Philosophy, Aristotle said: “The soul in living creatures is
distinguished by two functions, the judging capacity which is a function of the intellect and of sensation
combined, and the capacity for exciting movement in space.” (Hett, 1964)

Why is the “will” as important as reason?

Aristotle believed that “will” is the product of intellect and sensation; and that “will” gave the person the
capacity for “exciting movement in space.
Developing the “will”

Aristotle discussed the difference between what people decide to do and what they actually do.
In Aristotle’s philosophy, using the intellect to decide is just one part of the moral decision. The resolve
to put the decision into action is the role of the “will” He said since vice and virtues are up to us, “we
become just by the practice of just actions. Self-control by exercising self-control; and courageous by
practicing acts of courage (as translated by Baird, 2016).”
Self-mastery therefore is the product of the “will” that is achieved by actually putting rational,
moral choice into action.