Moral Standards and Dilemmas

• Moral standards


  Norms (general rules about our actions or behaviors) that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as the values (enduring beliefs or statements about what is good and desirable or not) placed on what we believed to be morally good or morally bad
• Moral norms


  • Obligation to fulfill our promises
  • Killing innocent people is absolutely wrong
• Moral values


  • Helping the poor is good
  • Cheating during exams is bad
• Moral standards


  • Promote "the good", that is, the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals and the environment
  • Prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations
  • Sum of combined norms and values
• Characteristics of moral standards

  • Deal with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans, animals, and the environment
  • Not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative individuals or bodies
  • Overriding, take precedence over other standards and considerations, especially of self-interest
  • Based on impartial considerations, thus, fair and just
  • Associated with special emotions (such as guilt and shame) and vocabulary (such as right, wrong, good, and bad)
• Non-moral standards


  Standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way
• Non-moral standards


  • Matters of taste and preference
  • Scrupulous observance does not actually make one a moral person
  • Violation does not pose any threat to human well-being
• Non-moral standards


  • Don't text while driving
  • Don't speak when your mouth is full
• Moral dilemma


  A situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more conflicting options, neither of which is acceptable
• Moral dilemma


  • The agent of a moral action is obliged to make a decision about which course of action is best
  • There must be different courses of action to choose from
  • No matter what course of action is taken, some moral principles are always compromised
  • There is no perfect solution to the problem
  • The moral agent "seems fated to commit something wrong which implies that she is bound to morally fail because in one way or another she will fail to do something which she ought to do"