FEELINGS AND

MORAL DECISION
MAKING
A lot of people may not be aware when
their behavior diverts from ethical
standards because their emotions and
moods get the better part of them.
• Feelings and intuitions or what we call as
moral emotions play a major role in most of
the ethical decisions people make.

• Decisions people make vary when they are

happy from when they are sad or emotional.
Words that come out from our mouth
sometimes are also affected by the
emotions that we feel.

And so if our actions…

Bo Sanchez, in his book,
Heart Detox, expressed
that there is a difference
between experiencing the
emotion and expressing
the emotion.
 Emotions can affect not just the nature of the
decision, but the speed at which you make it.
Anger can lead to impatience, and rash decision-
making. If you’re excited, you might make quick
decisions without considering the implications, as
you surf the wave of confidence, and optimism
about the future.
 TWO RELATED MODELS IN
ETHICS
ETHICAL
SUBJECTIVISM EMOTIVISM
Ethical Subjectivism
• It holds that the truth or falsity of ethical
propositions is dependent on the feelings,
attitudes, or standards of a person or group of
persons.

• It is based solely on Feelings.

 A homosexual from the parlor passes
in front of a group of freshmen nearby and
Lancelot one among the said group shouted
"homosexuality is wrong". If Lancelot said
this because he had been abused and
molested by a homosexual when he was a
Child, then he is biased. He only made that
because of his feeling of anger.
 EMOTIVISM
• It is a naïve version of ethical subjectivism.
This version says that a moral belief is true if
it is held with sincerity and conviction.

• To say that an act is right, or a person is good

is merely to emote, just to express emotions.
 EMOTIVISM
• Emotivists claim that statements about good
or evil are just expressing a subjects approval
or disapproval of a particular thing.

• Emotivism has earned the nickname the BOO-

YAY Theory of Ethics.
• Feelings cannot be solely relied upon but
reason and feelings may complement each
other.
• Traditionally, ethical decision-making process
has been understood as an exclusively mental
process; that our feelings have nothing to do
with matters of right or wrong and good or
bad, precisely because our emotions are very
unstable.
• Although most existing researches emphasize
the mental elements of decision-making, there
are pieces of evidence to support the idea that
emotion is also a necessary component leading
to ethical decisions and ethical behavior.
• The arousal of emotions influences moral
reflection and ultimately moral behavior.
• INNER DIRECTED NEGATIVE
EMOTIONS – like guilt, embarrassment, and
shame often motivate people to act ethically.

• OUTER DIRECTED NEGATIVE

EMOTIONS – the other hand, aim to
discipline or punish. For example, people often
direct anger, disgust, or contempt at those who
have acted unethically.
• POSITIVE EMOTIONS – like gratitude and
admiration, which people may feel when they
see someone acting with compassion or
kindness, can prompt people to help others
too.

• Emotions evoked by suffering, such as

sympathy and empathy, often lead people to
act ethically toward others.
 So, while we may believe that our moral
decisions are influenced most by our
philosophy or religious values, in truth, our
emotions play a significant role in our
ethical decision-making.