Moral decisions
November 27th 2009 01:11
Most people have a hodgepodge of opinions about what's good and bad, and what should and shouldn't be done. They derive their moral beliefs not from one source but from many -- their beliefs are shaped by the books they read, the movies they watch, the communities they're raised in, the company they keep, and so forth. This is true, I'd claim, even of people who profess adherence to particular moral systems and positions -- to Christianity, to utilitarianism, to error theory...
So we have various opinions, and we go through life, and often we know what's right and we automatically do it, or we do what's right without thinking about it. The purpose of a moral system, after all, is to supply you with ready solutions to questions of action, and to inculcate virtue and habit.
This is normal operation; people want to be untroubled. But many times we're failed both by the system we avow, and the hodgepodge of attitudes we've accumulated. There's at least two sorts of moral decision that disturb consciousness: -- (1) there are situations where you know what's right, and a decision must be made whether to exert willpower, to follow through; and (2) there are situations where you don't know what's right.
It's common in the latter case to assume that somewhere, lurking, there is a correct answer -- we just need to uncover it. But what if there were no right choice? What if there were cracks in the system, and the particular moral conundrum were undecidable in terms of it?
Once a legal authority is chosen (or violently asserts itself), then there are many direct implications for a community. Once the High Court has made up its mind about a particular interpretation of the Constitution, then a lot of law becomes settled, and much determination of legality becomes mechanical. Once a moral or prudential system is chosen, then a lot of potential action problems dissolve.
But what I'd want to claim is that aporia especially afflicts these foundational matters, and things could have been otherwise. In particular, though this is a discussion for another time, I don't believe there is anything to tilt your hand towards any particular moral system.
We might be raised in this or that tradition, but once we're conscious of our circumstances, we are uncomfortably forced to be free -- we're in the daunting and liberating situation of having to make a genuine decision.
So we have various opinions, and we go through life, and often we know what's right and we automatically do it, or we do what's right without thinking about it. The purpose of a moral system, after all, is to supply you with ready solutions to questions of action, and to inculcate virtue and habit.
This is normal operation; people want to be untroubled. But many times we're failed both by the system we avow, and the hodgepodge of attitudes we've accumulated. There's at least two sorts of moral decision that disturb consciousness: -- (1) there are situations where you know what's right, and a decision must be made whether to exert willpower, to follow through; and (2) there are situations where you don't know what's right.
It's common in the latter case to assume that somewhere, lurking, there is a correct answer -- we just need to uncover it. But what if there were no right choice? What if there were cracks in the system, and the particular moral conundrum were undecidable in terms of it?
Once a legal authority is chosen (or violently asserts itself), then there are many direct implications for a community. Once the High Court has made up its mind about a particular interpretation of the Constitution, then a lot of law becomes settled, and much determination of legality becomes mechanical. Once a moral or prudential system is chosen, then a lot of potential action problems dissolve.
But what I'd want to claim is that aporia especially afflicts these foundational matters, and things could have been otherwise. In particular, though this is a discussion for another time, I don't believe there is anything to tilt your hand towards any particular moral system.
We might be raised in this or that tradition, but once we're conscious of our circumstances, we are uncomfortably forced to be free -- we're in the daunting and liberating situation of having to make a genuine decision.
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