MORALITY/ETHICS

MORALITY

A uniquely human activity that refers to our capacity to make decisions affecting others and ourselves in either a positive or a negative way

Through our moral choices we are shaping our identity (who we are)

Morality is positive; it promotes human welfare

MORALITY: 4 POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED

Personal responsibility

this means that I am ultimately responsible and accountable for the actions I perform. That when I do something wrong, I must face the consequences of my actions and not put the blame on someone or anything else.

MORALITY: 4 POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED

Morality operates in the human will

Morality is inextricably related to our ability to make free choices, we have a free will.

MORALITY: 4 POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED

Our moral decisions and actions

have consequences

When we perform an action we set into place a chain of events. Things happen as a result of the moral decisions we make. The consequences of our actions can be profound or minute, foreseen or not. The more serious the action the more serious the consequences.

MORALITY: 4 POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED

Morality has a communal/ social

dimension:

in addition to affecting ourselves, our moral decisions can often have profound effects on others.

MORALITY Morality therefore, is an every day thing

It has to do with how we spend our money, our time, and our talents, how we treat our parents, our friends, people we don’t likethe environmenthow respond to our neighbor in needhow we attempt to resolve conflicts

HOMEWORK

Answer the “For Review” questions on page 6, numbers 1-4.

MORALITYYou have a brother. You know that someone has been seriously injured as a result of criminal activity undertaken by him. You live in a country where the police are generally trustworthy. Are you obliged to inform them about your brother's crime?

Strongly obliged Weakly obliged No obliged  

Someone you have never met needs a kidney transplant. You are one of the few people who can provide the kidney. Would any moral obligation to provide the kidney be greater if this person were a cousin rather than a non-relative?Yes No

MORALITYYou can save the lives of a thousand patients by canceling one hundred operations that could have saved the lives of a hundred different patients. Are you obliged to do so?

Yes No

 

 A situation arises where you can either save your own child from death or contact the emergency services in order to save the lives of ten other children. You cannot do both, and there is no way to save everyone. Which course of action are you obliged to follow?

Save your own children Save ten other children