Applications of Morality Moral & Amoral FOUR ASPECTS OF THE APPLICATION OF MORALITY •Religious morality is concerned with human beings in relationship to a supernatural being •Morality and nature are concerned with human beings in relationship to nature •Individual morality is concerned with human beings in relationship to themselves •Social morality is concerned with human beings in relationship to other human beings This is the most important category WHO IS MORALLY OR ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE? At the present time, only humans can be considered to be moral or immoral; therefore, only humans should be considered morally responsible • Some recent experiments suggest that in the future certain animals could be taught to be moral OBJECTIVE VIEWS OF MORALITY Values come from some supernatural being or beings •There are moral laws embedded in nature itself •The world and objects in it have value with or without the presence of valuing human beings SUBJECTIVE VIEW OF MORALITY In opposition to the objective views, some believe that morality and values reside strictly within human beings and that there are no values or morality outside of them CRITICISM OF OBJECTIVE VIEW •It is difficult to prove conclusively the existence of any supernatural being(s) or to prove that values exist outside the natural world •There is a difference between “natural laws” and “moral laws” There is no conclusive evidence that “natural moral laws” exist •It is impossible to think of things of value without someone valuing them CRITICISM OF SUBJECTIVE VIEW Because aspects of the world and nature can be valued whether or not human beings exist, values would not seem to be totally subjective •It is true that there are many things in the world, such as art, science, politics, and music that are valued only by human beings, but there are many others that are valuable whether human beings are around or not THE SYNTHESIZED VIEW: VALUES ARE BOTH OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE •Values are determined by three variables: •The first variable is the thing of value, or the thing valued •The second is a conscious being who values, or the valuer •The third is the context or situation in which the valuing takes place THEORY ON THE ORIGIN OF MORALITY •If values are both objective and subjective, it is possible to construct the following theory concerning the origin of morality: •It comes from a complex interaction between conscious human beings and material, mental, or emotional “things” in specific contexts •It stems from human needs and desires and is based on human emotions and reason THE SYNTHESIZED VIEW: VALUES ARE BOTH OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE •Values are determined by three variables: •The first variable is the thing of value, or the thing valued •The second is a conscious being who values, or the valuer •The third is the context or situation in which the valuing takes place THEORY ON THE ORIGIN OF MORALITY •If values are both objective and subjecti

1. APPLICATIONS OF MORALITY

2. AMORAL AND NONMORAL
•Amoral = having no moral sense, or being indifferent
to right and wrong
•This term can be applied to very few people
•The complete absence of a sense of right and wrong
may be caused by physical trauma to the brain
•In addition, some criminal types are amoral despite
moral education

3. AMORAL AND NONMORAL
•Nonmoral = outside the realm of morality
altogether
•Inanimate objects are neither moral or
immoral, but could be used immorally
•Many areas of study are in themselves neither
moral nor immoral

4. FOUR ASPECTS OF THE APPLICATION OF
MORALITY
•Religious morality is concerned with human
beings in relationship to a supernatural being
•Morality and nature are concerned with
human beings in relationship to nature

5. FOUR ASPECTS OF THE APPLICATION OF MORALITY
•Individual morality is concerned with human
beings in relationship to themselves
•Social morality is concerned with human
beings in relationship to other human beings
•This is the most important category

6. WHO IS MORALLY
OR ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE?
•At the present time, only humans can be considered
to be moral or immoral; therefore, only humans
should be considered morally responsible
•Some recent experiments suggest that in the future
certain animals could be taught to be moral

7. OBJECTIVEVIEWS OF MORALITY
•Values come from some supernatural being or beings
•There are moral laws embedded in nature itself
•The world and objects in it have value with or
without the presence of valuing human beings

8. SUBJECTIVEVIEW OF MORALITY
•In opposition to the objective views, some
believe that morality and values reside
strictly within human beings and that there
are no values or morality outside of them

9. CRITICISM OF OBJECTIVEVIEW
•It is difficult to prove conclusively the existence of any
supernatural being(s) or to prove that values exist
outside the natural world
•There is a difference between “natural laws” and
“moral laws”

10. CRITICISM OF OBJECTIVEVIEW
•There is no conclusive evidence that
“natural moral laws” exist
•It is impossible to think of things of value
without someone valuing them

11. CRITICISM OF SUBJECTIVEVIEW
•Because aspects of the world and nature can be
valued whether or not human beings exist, values
would not seem to be totally subjective
•It is true that there are many things in the world, such
as art, science, politics, and music that are valued only
by human beings, but there are many others that are
valuable whether human beings are around or not

12. THE SYNTHESIZEDVIEW:VALUES ARE BOTH OBJECTIVE
AND SUBJECTIVE
•Values are determined by three variables:
•The first variable is the thing of value, or the thing
valued
•The second is a conscious being who values, or the
valuer
•The third is the context or situation in which the
valuing takes place

13. THEORY ON THE ORIGIN OF
MORALITY
•If values are both objective and subjective, it is
possible to construct the following theory concerning
the origin of morality:
•It comes from a complex interaction between
conscious human beings and material, mental, or
emotional “things” in specific contexts
•It stems from human needs and desires and is based
on human emotions and reason

14. CUSTOMARY MORALITY
•Customary (or traditional) morality is based on
custom or tradition
•This is the first type of morality that we encounter
•Customary morality is presented to members, often
accepted without analysis or critical evaluation,
throughout childhood and adult years

15. REFLECTIVE MORALITY
•Reflective morality is the careful examination and
critical evaluation of all moral issues whether or
not they are based on religion, custom, or
tradition
•All customs, traditions, systems of ethics, rules, and
ethical theories should be carefully analyzed and
critically evaluated before we continue to accept
or live by them

16. MORALITY AND THE LAW
•Morality is not necessarily based on law
•However, the law provides a public
statement to guide humans in their behavior
and to protect them from doing harm to
persons and property

17. MORALITY AND THE LAW
•Some laws have more or less moral impact
than others, but the relationship between
law and morality is not reciprocal
•What is moral is not necessarily legal and
what is legal is not necessarily moral

18. MORALITY AND RELIGION
•Throughout history, religion served as a powerful
institution for getting people to behave morally
•But, the fact that religion may have preceded formal
legal or moral systems, or that it may have provided
very powerful and effective sanctions for morality,
does not prove that morality must of necessity have a
religious basis