Professional Documents
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MORAL PHILOSOPY
has been shaped by one of his critics, I reject the argument that morality develops in
physical and psychological development, and it does not take experience into account.
Anecdotally, people make lots of mistakes, some of which may be immoral, between
their teenage years and their thirties. If the trajectory of moral development can be
traced, perhaps it would take a shape other than a rising slope. In addition, there are just
too many examples of people behaving morally and immorally at various ages for
addition to stipulating how people express their faith, religion prescribes correct
behavior. That behavior is subject to moral judgment regardless of whether one is, for
example, a Hindu adhering to one’s dharma, or a Christian striving to live the example of
Jesus in the Gospels. Philosophical and moral conversations among people with differing
religious ideologies can be fruitful if the participants speak to what their religions believe
to be true and good. Such conversations challenge and refine a sense of truth for all
Kantian ethics leave me unsettled because I would prefer that people act morally
out of care. I would rather people do good because they are good, or at least because they
are being good. However, Kant’s “deontological ethics [which] elevate duty over love,”
may be essential for public servants who have sworn to work for the benefit of society
(Noddings, 2016, p. 151). Sworn protectors like police officers and military personnel,
and mandated reporters like teachers, should act out of a deep sense of duty. It is
unacceptable if they fail to protect as the result of their own personal choice.
leave us with a paradox. If one is not virtuous enough to behave virtuously, it may not
follow that virtuous behavior is the path to virtue. Utilitarian ethics are appealing
because they seem to account for imperfect humanity. This ethic offers a chance to
uncourageous, and irresponsible. While abhorring “blind obedience to the laws of God,”
Kant is guilty of blind obedience to his own categorical imperative. (Noddings, 2016,
must consider intentions behind actions in a moral framework. However, if someone acts
with truly moral intentions and catastrophic results ensue, am at a loss to form a solid
opinion. I am not certain if John Dewey’s consequentialist ethic that an “act is judged
but I am sure that history is consequentialist. Americans have dubbed the colonists who
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won independence from Great Britain our “founding fathers.” If their enterprise had
REFERENCES
Noddings, N. (2016). Philosophy of Education, 4th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.