COURSE CODE AND TITLE: GE 107/ETED 1 - ETHICS 7.

Contentment
LESSON NUMBER: LESSON 3 (WEEKS 6 AND 7) The state of being happy and satisfied.
Complements: Fulfillment, Joy
TOPIC: DEVELOPING VIRTUE AS A HABIT
Transcends: Dissatisfaction, Restlessness
8. Courage
INTRODUCTION: Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand
danger, fear, or difficulty.
Virtues are universal and recognized by all cultures as basic qualities Complements: Boldness, Confidence
of well-being. When we practice virtues and build our “character Transcends: Fear, Self-doubt
muscle,” we attract what may have been missing in our life such as 9. Determination
A quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something
fulfilling relationships and achievement of meaningful goals.
that is difficult.
Complements: Commitment, Tenaciousness
Moral character on the other hand, is an evaluation of an individual's
Transcends: Complacency
stable moral qualities. It distinguishes one individual from another. 10. Dignity
A way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-
LESSON PRESENTATION: control.
Complements: Honor, Respect
“Kindness. Honesty. Service. Virtues are the essence of our character Transcends: Egoism, Selfishness
And when we keep the practice of virtues at the heart of everyday life, 11. Excellence
we live with purpose.” Extremely high quality.
- Anonymous Complements: Dignity, Honor, Integrity, Respect
Transcends: Mediocrity
12. Fairness
WHAT ARE VIRTUES? Treating people in a way that does not favor some over others.
Virtue, by definition, is the moral excellence of a person. Morally Complements: Equality, Justice
excellent people have a character made-up of virtues valued as good. Transcends: Grievance, Injustice
They are honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for 13. Flexibility
example. They do the right thing, and don’t bend to impulses, urges or Willing to change or to try different things.
desires, but act according to values and principles. Some might say Complements: Detachment, Understanding
good qualities are innate, but we’re not perfect. Virtues need to be Transcends: Stubbornness
14. Generosity
cultivated to become more prevalent in life. With the habit of being
The quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish; the quality
virtuous, we take the helm of our own life, redirecting its course of being generous.
towards greater happiness and fulfillment. Complements: Kindness, Service
Transcends: Stinginess, Self-centered
BECOMING MORE VIRTUOUS PEOPLE 15. Gratitude
We know we are becoming more virtuous people, not only because of A feeling of appreciation or thanks.
the results above but also because of the way other people respond to Complements: Hope, Joy, Peace
Transcends: Disappointment, Pain
us. Our friends, families, co-workers, and neighbors will trust and rely
16. Honesty
on us. They will come to us for guidance and help. They will want to be The quality of being fair and truthful.
around us because we inspire them to be better people. People will Complements: Integrity, Truthfulness
know us as someone with an exceptional character who makes the Transcends: Deceitfulness
right choices and strives for excellence in all we do. Can life be lived 17. Honor
any better? Respect that is given to someone who is admired.
Practicing virtues allows us to develop our potential, and live a more Complements: Dignity, Respect
purposeful, better life; a life not ordinary but extraordinary. Transcends: Shame
18. Humility
The quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people.
LIST OF VIRTUES Complements: Modesty
1. Acceptance Transcends: Arrogance, Pride
The act of accepting something or someone. 19. Integrity
Complements: Contentment, Forgiveness Firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values; the
Transcends: Denial, Rejection quality or state of being complete or undivided.
2. Assertiveness Complements: Honesty, Trust
Disposed to or characterized by bold or confident statements and Transcends: Corruption, Deceitfulness
behavior. 20. Justice
Complements: Confidence, Courage The process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes
Transcends: Self-doubt, Shyness and criminals.
3. Authenticity Complements: Fairness, Integrity
True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. Transcends: Discrimination
Complements: Honesty, Integrity 21. Kindness
Transcends: Low self-esteem The quality or state of being kind; a kind act.
4. Caring Complements: Caring, Compassionate
Feeling or showing concern for other people. Transcends: Cruelty, Loneliness
Complements: Compassion, Kindness 22. Loyalty
Transcends: Cruelty, Insensitivity The quality or state of being loyal.
5. Commitment Complements: Honesty, Trust
An agreement or pledge to do something in the future. Transcends: Betrayal
Complements: Loyalty, Perseverance 23. Modesty
Transcends: Lack of Direction The quality of not being too proud or confident about yourself or
6. Compassion your abilities.
Sympathetic consciousness of others’ distresses together with a Complements: Humility
desire to alleviate it. Transcends: Self-importance
Complements: Caring, Understanding
Transcends: Grief, Judgment
 24. Optimistic Obsequiousness
Having or showing hope for the future; expecting good things to (flattery,
happen. Surliness fawning)
Friendliness/ (obedient or
Complements: Hope, Joyfulness Social conduct (aloofness,
civility attentive to an
Transcends: Pessimism coldness)
excessive or
25. Patience
servile degree)
The ability to wait for a long time without becoming annoyed or
Self-expression Mock modesty Truthfulness Boastfulness
upset.
Complements: Determination, Peace Buffoonery
Transcends: Frustration (a person who
Wittiness
26. Perseverance Boorishness does silly things,
Conversation (amusing,
Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, (rude, vulgar) usually to make
clever)
failure, or opposition. other people
Complements: Commitment, Determination, Resilience laugh)
Transcends: Laziness Modesty
27. Reverence Shame Shamelessness (keeping within Shyness
Honor or respect that is felt for or shown to (someone or measure)
something). Indignation Proper
Envy Spite
Complements: Respect, Worth (resentment, ire) indignation
Transcends: Hatred
28. Self-discipline  MORAL CHARACTER
Correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. The word "character" is derived from the Ancient Greek word
Complements: Commitment, Determination "charaktêr", referring to a mark impressed upon a coin. Later it came to
Transcends: Chaos, Unruliness
mean a point by which one thing was told apart from others. There are
29. Temperate
Habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions. two approaches when dealing with moral character: Normative
Complements: Moderation ethics involve moral standards that exhibit right and wrong conduct. It
Transcends: Excessive is a test of proper behavior and determining what is right and
30. Tolerance wrong. Applied ethics involve specific and controversial issues along
Capacity to endure pain or hardship; sympathy or indulgence for with a moral choice, and tend to involve situations where people are
beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own. either for or against the issue.
Complements: Patience, Tenacious
Transcends: Narrow-mindedness
31. Understanding Moral character or character is an evaluation of an individual's
An agreement of opinion or feeling; adjustment of differences. stable moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of
Complements: Kindness, Tolerance attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such
Transcends: Egoism as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good
32. Wisdom behaviors or habits. Moral character primarily refers to the assemblage
Accumulated philosophic or scientific learning; knowledge. of qualities that distinguish one individual from another—although on a
Complements: Idealism, Visionary cultural level, the set of moral behaviors to which a social group
Transcends: Lack of Intelligence
adheres can be said to unite and define it culturally as distinct from
others. Psychologist Lawrence Pervin defines moral character as "a
 ARISTOTLE’S GOLDEN MEAN disposition to express behavior in consistent patterns of functions
The Golden Mean is a sliding scale for determining what is virtuous. across a range of situations". Similarly, the philosopher Marie I.
Aristotle believed that being morally good meant striking a balance George refers to moral character as the “sum of one’s moral habits and
between two vices. You could have a vice of excess or one of dispositions.”
deficiency.
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT
The Golden Mean is a means of assisting a person in practicing good Moral development is one of the most significant aspects of the
character as they strive to make it second in nature. personality development. It is thus a major task of society and
education. Moral- development proceeds along with social
Sphere of development. A person whose social development has been disturbed
Deficiency due to some, or the other reason, a person who is socially maladjusted
feeling or Mean (Virtue) Excess (Vice)
(Vice) develops immoral behavior.
action
Rashness
Fear and
Cowardice Courage (recklessness, Immoral behavior is that behavior which fails to conform to social
confidence
foolishness) expectations. Such behavior arises not due to ignorance of social
Pleasures and Temperance expectations, but due to intentional disapproval of social standards or
Insensibility Self-indulgence
pains (self-control) lack of feelings of obligation to conform. Similarly, a person who has
Getting and Generosity been deprived of the opportunity to learn social behavior develops
Stinginess Extravagance
spending (kindness)
unmoral or non-moral behavior. Unmoral or non-moral behavior arises
Getting and Pettiness Magnificence Vulgarity
due to ignorance of what the social group expects rather than
spending (small minded) (brilliance) (rudeness)
intentional violation of the group’s standards.
Pusillanimity
Vanity (showing lack of
Honour and
(narcissism, Proper pride
dishonour determination,  FACTORS INFLUENCING MORAL DEVELOPMENT
self-importance)
timid)
Honour and 1.Family
Lack of ambition Proper ambition Ambition
dishonour Family plays an active role in the moral development of children.
Irascibility Ethical and moral virtues like co-operation, obedience, discipline,
(easily provoked
truthfulness, sincerity, self-submission, sympathy, love, honesty,
Anger Lack of spirit Good temper to anger,
irritable) sublimation of instincts, and subordination of self, to the larger interest
of the society, realizing and discharging responsibility are developed in
 the family. Congenial environment in the family is conducive to moral
development.
Family members having immoral background adversely influence  STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
moral development of the child. Studies show that lower class parents (Adapted from Moral Deliberation, Ethics: Foundations of Moral
tend to place greater emphasis on conformity to external authority. The Valuation by Bulaong Jr., Calano, Lagliva et al.) p.108
middle-class parents emphasize internal regulation of behavior. It may
be due to the fact that the lower-class boys behave more aggressively There is a big difference between a young child’s reasoning on the
and experience less guilt in the process than the middle-class boys. right thing to do and the manner a morally mature individual arrives at
an ethical decision. This necessary growth, which is maturation in
Child rearing factors: moral reasoning, has been the focus of study of many theorists. One of
The child rearing practices also effect the conscience development. them is the American moral psychologist Lawrence Kolberg (1927-
The love-oriented practices in child rearing are more effective in 1987) who theorized that moral development happens in six stages,
conscience development. In the families in which the child is given which he divided into three levels. The first level is what he called pre-
praise and warmth and life of reason is emphasized the conscience conventional and it corresponds to how infants and young children
development takes place in an effective manner. think. This pre-conventional level, whose reasoning is centered on the
consequences of one’s actions, is divided into two stages.
2.School The first stage of reasoning centers around obedience and the
School is said to be the fountain head of social and moral virtues. It avoidance of punishment: to a young child’s mind, an action is “good” if
plays an important role in moral development of students. Teacher’s it enables one to escape from punishment; “bad” if it leads to
personality i.e., his social and moral attitudes, habits, interests, values punishment. Later, a child enters the second stage of reasoning and
and beliefs, discipline in the school maintained through love, affection, learns to act according to what she thinks will serve her self-interest;
sympathy, personal example of teacher exercises positive influence in thus, what is “good” at this stage is what the child thinks can bring her
moral development of students. pleasure.

Co-curricular activities like mass prayer and morning assembly, social The second level of moral development according to Kolberg is the
service activities, self-government, celebration of birth days of great conventional since this is the stage in which older children,
men provide ample opportunities for the inculcation of moral qualities adolescents, and young adults learn to conform to the expectations of
like honesty, obedience, truth, justice, fellow-feeling, love and respect society. This is the time when one learns to follow the conventions of
for others. Thus, the students get training in the habits and graces of her group. This second level is divided into two stages: the third and
moral life. fourth stages of moral development.

3.Neighborhood The third stage is when one begins to act according to what the larger
Interests, habits, sentiments and character of neighbors exert group she belongs to expect of her. The individual here assumes that
significant influence in moral development of children. Presence of the what will benefit her best is when the other members of her group
houses of drunkards, dacoits, gamblers and prostitutes negatively approve of her actions. The general tendency at this age is to conform
influences moral development. first to the values of one’s immediate group, such as her family,
playmates, or later on, barkada.
4.Religious Institutions
Religious institutions like temples, Gurudwaras, Church have been The fourth stage is achieved when a person realizes that following the
regarded as primary social and moral institutions. Religion is of dictates of her society is not just good for herself but more importantly,
dominant influence in determining social and moral attitudes and moral it is necessary for the existence of society itself. The individual at this
functioning. Thus, ethnic or religious institutions significantly influence stage values most the laws, rules, and regulations of her society, and
moral development of individuals. thus her moral reasoning is shaped by dutifulness to the external
standards set by society.
5.Club and Camp Experiences
Club and camp experiences prove useful in the development of The third and highest level of moral development for Kolberg is what
valuable social and moral qualities like obedience, cheerfulness, he calls post-conventional since the morally responsible agent
politeness, kindness, co-operation, honesty, and loyalty. recognizes that what is good or right is not reducible to following the
rules of one’s group. Instead, it is a question of understanding
6.Playmates and Friends personally what ought to do and deciding, using one’s free will, to act
Playmates and friends have vital influence in the moral development of accordingly. This level, which is also divided into two stages (the fifth
the child. His moral attitudes, beliefs, interests, sentiments, habit and and the sixth), represents the individual’s realization that the ethical
character are influenced by playmates and companions. principles she has rationally arrived at take precedence over even the
rules or conventions that her society dictates. Moral maturity therefore
7.Culture is seen in an agent who acts on what she has understood, using her
The existing cultural environment exerts a powerful influence in the full rationality, to be what is right, regardless of whether the act will
moral development. Customs, traditions, mores folkways and values of bring the agent pleasure or pain and even regardless of whether the
the groups i.e., home, school as well as society significantly influences act is in accordance with one’s community’s laws or not. An agent has
moral development. Social traditions, customs, values and norms are attained full moral development if she acts according to her well-
unwritten laws that the child has to follow. thought-out rational principles.
Kohlberg (1958) agreed with Piaget's (1932) theory of moral
8.Community development in principle but wanted to develop his ideas further.
Community in which the individual moves is a potent factor in moral
development. The community influences on the child are Musemus, He used Piaget’s storytelling technique to tell people stories involving
Cinema, libraries, programmes on radio and television, other moral dilemmas. In each case, he presented a choice to be
recreational programmes and community environment at large. considered, for example, between the rights of some authority and the
needs of some deserving individual who is being unfairly treated.
 One of the best known of Kohlberg’s (1958) stories concerns a man conformist attitude to
called Heinz who lived somewhere in Europe. morality. Right and
wrong are determined
Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a by the majority.
new drug might save her. The drug had been discovered by a local Being good now
chemist, and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist means doing your
(most
was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug, and this duty to society. To
adolescents
was much more than the Heinz could afford. this end, we obey
& adults) Law and Order
Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and laws without question
friends. He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked Stage4 orientation
and show a respect
if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later. for authority. Most
The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was adults do not
going to make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his progress past this
wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug. stage.
Right and wrong are
Kohlberg asked a series of questions such as: now determined by
personal values,
1.Should Heinz have stolen the drug? although these can
2.Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife? be over-ridden by
3.What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make any difference? Stage Social
democratically
4.Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman died? 5 Contract
agreed laws. When
Level 3
laws infringe our
By studying the answers from children of different ages to these Post-
sense of justice, we
questions, Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changed conventional
can choose to ignore
as people grew older. The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged (10 to 15% of
them.
10–16 years, 58 of whom were followed up at three-yearly intervals for the over 20s)
We can now live in
20 years (Kohlberg, 1984). accordance with
Universal deeply held moral
Each boy was given a 2-hour interview based on the ten dilemmas. Stage
Ethical principles which are
What Kohlberg was mainly interested in was not whether the boys 6
Principle seen as more
judged the action right or wrong, but the reasons given for the decision. important than the
He found that these reasons tended to change as the children got laws of the land.
older.

People can only pass through these levels in the order listed. Each GENERALIZATION/SUMMARY:
new stage replaces the reasoning typical of the earlier stage. Not
everyone achieves all the stages. Virtue is a moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed
This stage is mostly to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and
manifested by good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as
children. Elders teach promoting collective and individual greatness. In other words, it is a
them to follow a behavior that shows high moral standards. Doing what is right and
certain conduct in the avoiding what is wrong.
absence of which
they are punished. According to Aristotle, to be morally good means striking a balance
This is an elementary between two vices. Either you have an excess or deficiency in it. The
state of mind of the Golden Mean aims to assist a person in practicing good character as
Stage Obedience &
child who tries to they strive to make it second nature.
1 Punishment
follow the best way in
his/her own realm. Moral character primarily refers to the collection of qualities that
Level 1 Very few of them distinguish one individual from another. Many factors influence the
Pre- remain in this state moral development of a person, namely; (1) Family; (2) School; (3)
conventional when they grow up. Neighborhood; (4) Religious Institutions; (5) Club and Camp
(up to age 9) But in certain Experiences; (6) Playmates and Friends; (7) Culture; and (8)
situations, most Community.
elders still shift back
to this stage. Lawrence Kohlberg proposes that there are three levels of moral
Similar, but right and development, with each level split into two stages. Kohlberg suggested
wrong is now that people move through these stages in a fixed order, and that moral
determined by what understanding is linked to cognitive development. The three levels of
we are rewarded for, moral reasoning include preconventional, conventional, and
Stage Instrumental
and by doing what postconventional.
2 and Relativist
others want. Any
concern for others is
motivated by
selfishness.
Level 2 Stage Interpersonal Being good is what
Conventiona 3 concordance pleases others. The
l child adopts a
 realizes that she is both a product of many forces, elements, and
events, all of which shape her situation and options for a decision. She
also realizes that she’s not merely a puppet of external causes.
Instead, a meaningful moral decision is one that she makes in full
understanding of where she is coming from and of where she ought to
Course Code and Title: GE 107/ETED 1 - Ethics go.
Lesson Number: Lesson 4 (Week 8)
Topic: Part 2 – The Act
B. MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FOR MORALITY: REASON AND
A. Feelings and Reasons for Impartiality
IMPARTIALITY
B. Reason and Impartiality as Minimum Requirement for Morality
Reason and Impartiality (adapted from The Elements of Morality,
James Rachels. Page 10-13)
LESSON PRESENTATION:
As a start, we may note two points: first, moral judgments must be
A. FEELINGS IN MORAL DELIBERATION
backed by good reasons; and second, morality requires the impartial
(Adapted from Ethics: Foundations of Moral Valuation by Bulaong Jr.,
consideration of each individual interest.
Calano, Lagliva et al., page 110-111)
Emotions or feelings have long been decided by purely rationalistic
Moral Reasoning. When we feel strongly about an issue, it is tempting
perspectives as having no place in a properly executed moral decision.
to assume that we just know what the truth is, without even having to
This prejudice, however, needs to be re-examined thoroughly.
consider arguments on the other side. Unfortunately, however, we
Although some emotions or feelings can derail one from a clear-
cannot rely on our feelings, no matter how powerful they may be. Our
minded decision in an ethical situation it’s also not possible that human
feelings may be irrational; they may be nothing but the product of
choice can be purged of all feelings; the moral agent, after all, is
prejudice, selfishness, or cultural conditioning. At one time, for
neither a robot nor a computer. A more realistic attitude toward
example, people’s feelings told them that members of other races were
decision-making is to appreciate the indispensable role emotions have
inferior and that slavery was God’s plan.
on an agent’s act of choosing. Aristotle precisely points out that moral
virtue goes beyond the mere act of intellectually identifying the right
Thus, if we want to discover the truth, we must let our feelings be
thing to do. Instead, it is the condition of one’s character by which an
guided as much as possible by reason. This is the essence of morality.
agent is able to manage her emotions or feelings. Note that Aristotle
The morally right thing to do is always the thing best supported by the
doesn’t say, “Remove all feelings”. Instead, he sees that cultivating
arguments.
one’s character lies in learning to manage one’s feelings.
This is not a narrow point about a small range of moral views; it is a
Our emotions are, as much as reason itself, part of what makes one a
general requirement of logic that must be accepted by everyone,
human being. There’s a popular Filipino saying: “tulak ng bibig; kabig
regardless of their position on any particular issue. The fundamental
ng dibdib” (literally, “the mouth says one thing, but the heart drives you
point may be stated simply. Suppose someone says that you ought to
to do another thing.”.). This saying can mean what an individual says,
do such-and-such. You may legitimately ask why you should do it, and
and in that sense what an individual’s mind or intellect dictates what
if no good reason can be given, you may reject the advice as arbitrary
one ought to do, can sometimes be overcome by what her feelings
or unfounded.
actually drive her to do. Thus, part of the genius Aristotle is his
In this way, moral judgments are different from expressions of personal
realization that’s possible that there can be a disconnection between
taste. If someone says, Ï like coffee,’’ she does not need to have a
intellectual knowledge of the good and the actual ability of an individual
reason--- she is merely stating a fact about her preferences, and
to perform accordingly. The latter is mainly a function of character
nothing more. There is no such thing as “rationally defending” one’s
formation, that is, of habituating the proper management of one’s
like or dislike of coffee. So long as she is accurately reporting her taste,
feelings. Aristotle accepts that feelings cannot be set aside in favor of
what she says must be true. On the other hand, if someone says that
some illusory, purely intellectual acceptance of the good. Instead, he
something is morally wrong, he does need reasons, and if his reasons
sees moral virtue as a matter of habitually managing one’s feelings in
are legitimate, then other people must acknowledge their force. By the
the rightful manner. As his famous line from Book II of the
same logic, if he has no good reason for what he says, then he is
Nichomachean Ethics puts it: “Anyone can get angry-that is easy…;
simply making noise, and we may ignore him.
but to do this to the right person, to the right extent at the right time,
with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone, nor
Of course, not every reason that may be advanced is a good reason.
is it easy.” Doing the right thing for Aristotle is being able to manage
There are bad arguments as well as good ones, and much of the skill
one’s feelings so that she is actually driven or propelled to do what she
of moral thinking consists in discerning the difference.
all sees (intellectually) as right.
The Requirement of Impartiality. Almost every important moral
The responsible moral agent is a supposedly “dispassionate” moral
theory includes the idea of impartiality. This is the idea that each
decision-maker is an unrealistic ideal. The passions or feelings do not
individual’s interests are equally important, no one should get special
necessarily detract from making an informed moral decision. One can
treatment. At the same time, impartiality requires that we not treat the
even argue that making a moral decision, because it is all about what
members of particular groups as inferior, and thus it condemns forms
she values, cannot but involve her most serious feelings. What she
of discrimination like sexism and racism.
must do then is to educate and to cultivate her feelings so they do not
Impartiality is closely connected with the idea that moral judgments
remain in the pre-conventional level, that is, of self-centered feelings
must be backed by good reasons. Consider the racist who thinks that
reducible to individualistic notions of pleasure and pain. The morally
white people deserve all the good jobs. He would like all the doctors,
developed or mature individual or agent therefore must have honed her
lawyers, business executives, and so on, to be white. Now we can ask
intellectual capacity to determine the relevant elements in a moral
for reasons; we can ask why this is thought to be right. Is there
situation, including the moral principles to explore. On top of that, she
something about white people that makes them better fitted for the
must also have cultivated her feelings so that she neither simply gives
highest-paying and most prestigious positions? Are they inherently
in to childish emotions, nor does she also dismiss the “right feelings”
brighter or more industrious? Do they care more about themselves and
required for a truly informed moral decision. The mature moral agent
their families? Would they benefit more from such employment? In
each case, the answer is no; and if there is no good reason for treating
people differently, then discrimination is unacceptably arbitrary.
The requirement of impartiality, then, is at bottom nothing more than a
rule against treating people arbitrarily. It forbids treating one person
worse than another when there is no good reason to do so. But if this
explains what is wrong with racism, it also explains why, in some
cases, it is not racist to treat people differently.

The Minimum Conception of Morality

We may now state the minimum conception: Morality is, at the very
least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason---that is, to do what
there are the best reasons for doing---while giving actual weight to the
interests of each individual affected by one’s decision.

This gives us a picture of what it means to be a conscientious moral

agent. The conscientious moral agent is someone who is concerned
impartially with the interests of everyone affected by what he or she
does; who carefully examines facts and their implications; who accepts
principles of conduct only after scrutinizing them to make sure they are
justified; who is willing to “listen to reason’’ even when it means
revising prior convictions; and who, finally, is willing to act on the
results of this deliberation.

GENERALIZATION/SUMMARY:

When it comes to the objectivity of our moral decision-making,

emotions and feelings have long been considered as a hindrance as it
can derail someone from having a clear mind and making a sound
judgement. But at the same time emotions are, as much as reason
itself, part of what makes one a human being.

According to Aristotle, emotions are an original and integral part of

(virtue) ethics. Emotions are an inherent part of our moral reasoning
and being, and therefore they should be an inherent part of any moral
deliberation. In short, to cultivate one’s character lies in learning to
manage one’s feelings.

To achieve this, one’s conduct should be guided by reason and at the

same time giving actual weight to the interests of each individual
affected by one’s decision