Lesson 7: Moral Theories

Lesson Objectives (KSA):

At the end of the session, students should be able to:
a) Express the meaning of moral theories
b) Specify sample situations of each moral theory
c) Demonstrate thoughtfulness on which moral theory is appropriate to a given moral
situation

Introduction
Theory
- is a structured set of statements used to explain or
predict a set of facts or concepts.
Moral theory
- explains why a certain action is wrong, or right or why
we ought to act in certain ways.
- it is a theory of how we determine right and wrong
conducts.

5 Moral Theories:
1) Consequentialism
- Authored by Jeremy Bentham (1789), John Stuart Mill
(1861), and

Henry
Sidgwick
(1907).

- holds that only the consequences, or outcomes, of

actions matter morally.
- acts are deemed to be morally right solely on the basis
of their consequences.
- A person should choose the action that maximizes good
consequences and live so as to maximize good
consequences.
- For instance, most people would agree that lying is
wrong, but if telling a lie would help save a person' s
life, consequentialism says it’s the right thing to do.
Consequentialism is based on two principles:
A. Whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the
results of that act; and
B. The better consequences an act produces, the better or
more right that act is.

2) Moral Subjectivism (personal / societal)

- Personal:
o Right and wrong is determined by what you think or
feel.
o any ethical sentence just implies an attitude,
opinion, personal preference or feeling held by
someone.
o ethical statements reflect your
 sentiments,
 personal preferences, and
 feelings rather than objective facts.
- there are as many distinct scales of good and evil as
there are individuals in the world.
- every human being ought to pursue what is in his or her
self-interest exclusively.
- Societal:
o for a thing to be really right is for it to be approved
of by society.
o different things are right for people in different
societies and different periods in history.

5 Different types of Moral Subjectivism:

A. Simple Subjectivism:
 - ethical statements reflect your
o sentiments,
o personal preferences, and
o feelings rather than objective facts.
B. Individualist Subjectivism:
- proposed by Protagoras
- that there are as many distinct scales of good and evil
as there are individuals in the world.
- It is a form of Egoism, which maintains that every
human being ought to pursue what is in his or her self-
interest exclusively.
C. Ethical Relativism (or Moral Relativism) (societal):
- the view that for a thing to be really right is for it to be
approved of by society.
- different things are right for people in different societies
and different periods in history.
D. Ideal Observer Theory:
- the view that what is right is determined by the attitudes
that a hypothetical ideal observer would have.
- Adam Smith and David Hume espoused early versions of
the Ideal Observer Theory
E. Ethical Egoism.
- Right and wrong is determined by what is in your self-
interest.
- it is immoral to act contrary to your self-interest.
- based upon Psychological Egoism-that we, by nature,
act selfishly.
- does not exclude helping others.
- egoists will help others only if this will further their own
personal advantage or for pleasure.

3. Utilitarianism (the same with no. 1)

- also known as consequentialism
- popularized by British philosophers Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill in the 19th century.
- the best way to make a moral decision is to look at the
potential consequences of each available choice.
- pick the option that increases happiness
- or pick the option that lessens suffering
- summed up as a philosophy of "The greatest good for
the greatest number of people."

4. Deontology. (Religion and government)

- an approach to Ethics that focuses on the rightness or
wrongness of actions themselves.
- is opposite to:
o the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of
those actions (Consequentialism/Utilitarianism)
o or to the character and habits of the actor (V irtue
Ethics).
 - What makes a choice right is its conformity with moral
norms.
- Deontology is derived from the 2 Greek words:
o ‘deon’ for duty
o ‘logos’ for science (or study).
- falls within the domain of moral theories that guide and
assess our choices of what we ought to do (deontic
theories),
- is a duty-based moral theory.
Example: society needs rules in order to function, and
that a person can only be called moral to the extent that
he abides by those rules.

5. Virtue Ethics (Religion)

- A virtue is an excellent trait of character.
- Virtue ethics emphasizes an individual's character as the
key element of ethical thinking
- in contrast:
o rules about the acts themselves (Deontology)
o or their consequences
(Consequentialism/Utilitarianism).
- Virtuous: only good people can make good moral
decisions.
- Therefore, the best way to be moral is to constantly
seek to improve oneself.
- Sample Virtues: (vices opposite)
o wisdom, prudence, loyalty, honesty, temperance,
bravery, magnanimity, justice and many more.
 - Virtue ethicists argue that if a person tries his best to
embody these traits, then by definition he will always be
in a good position to make moral judgments: Moral
ascendancy.
- what kind of person we are and should be.

REFERENCE:
Leaño, Gubia-on, Ocampo, (2018). Ethics for College Students. Mindshapers
Company Incorporated. Manila, Philippines.