Developing Courage and Will

• Ethics involves the act, feelings, and will.
• Essential questions regarding ethics touch on feelings in moral decision making, reasons and impartiality, and moral courage.
• Ethics is a philosophy, with love of wisdom, that is related to morality and standards of right and wrong.

Feelings and Moral Decision Making

• Feelings can be either obstacles in making the right decisions or helpful in making the right decisions.
• Emotions are often consciously thought to be experienced and intentional.
• Emotions are very short-lived feelings that come from a known cause.
• Emotional states are combinations of physiological arousal, psychological appraisal, and subjective experiences.
• The three key elements of emotion are subjective experience, physiological response, and behavioral response.
• Emotions are instinctive and trained responses to moral dilemmas.

Ethics and Emotions

• Emotions are necessary in ethical judgements.
• Awareness of moral good and evil comes from experiencing the pleasure of approval and uneasiness of disapproval.
• Abstract inference and emotional intuitions or instincts both have a relative role in ethical thinking.

Feelings as Obstacles

• According three central features described by Gallinero in 2018, feelings can be obstacles in ethical decision making because of their non-deliberate nature, their partial nature, and capriciousness.
• It is important not to make promises when happy, reply to anything when angry, and make decisions when sad.

Ethical Theories and Feelings

• Two theories in ethics focus on role of feelings on morality are ethical subjectivism and emotivism.
• Ethical subjectivism posits that moral judgements are based on feelings, so there is no objective right or wrong.
• Subjectivism states that moral judgments simply describe personal feelings.
• Subjectivism allows us to think for ourselves, and we should not base morality on what society feels or dictates.
• One negative of subjectivism is it makes the mere fact that we like something would make it good.
• Ethical subjectivism is a weak foundation; in this instance slavery, racism and discrimination would be good only if one liked them.
• Ethical subjectivism states that we might have opposing views and each person should acknowledge that.

Emotivism

Developed by American philosopher Charles L. Steveson in the 20th century.

• It is also referred the "Boo – Hooray Theory" of ethics.
• Emotivism is defined as The most popular form of non-cognitivism.
• Emotivism states that moral judgments express positive or negative feelings.
• Utterances in ethics are not fact-stating sentences, conveying information, but are used to influence behavior and express the speaker's attitude.
• The principle of emotivism is just expressing an emotional preference.

Comparison

• Ethical Subjectivism states that Moral statements report feelings or opinions, and are therefore factual and can be true or false.
• In Ethical Subjectivism, my statement “Murder is wrong" is true to me because that's what I think.
• Emotivism states that Moral statements express feelings, and are therefore non- factual and cannot be true or false.
• In Emotivism, "Murder is wrong" just means “Boo murder!" and there is nothing true or false about this.
• Acting with only emotions has disadvantages.
• Acting with complete reason has issues.

Feelings as Helpful

• Feelings can facilitate making ethical decisions by signaling the need to adjust behavior.
• Feelings can also aid with learning from our mistakes.
• Emotional responses can be reshaped as experiences change over time.

Reasons and Impartiality

• Reason is the basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction.
• Quality of reason refers to the capacity for logical, rational and analytic thought.
• Quality of reason also means consciously making sense of things, establishing and verifying facts, applying common sense and logic.
• Quality of reason also means justifying changing practices, institutions and beliefs based on existing or new existing information.
• Impartiality refers to the idea that each individual's interests and point of view are equally important.
• Impartiality are also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness.
• The principle of justice holds that decisions ought to be based on objective criteria.
• Decisions that involve impartiality are rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons.

7-Step Moral Reasoning Model

• Times of moral dilemmas require that the question of "What would you do?", How would you decide what to do?" and "Where do I start?" are answered.
• The process of making a moral decision can be as significant as the decision itself, and ethical decisions that people encounter are complex.
• Exhaustion is common talking around the problem without progressing toward solving it.
• Scott B. Rae developed the 7-step moral reasoning model.
• The Steps are:
• Gather Facts
• Determine the Ethical Issues
• Identify the Principles that Have a Bearing on the Case
• List the alternatives
• Compare the Alternatives with the principles
• Weigh the consequences
• Make a decision

Moral Courage

• Willpower is very important in making moral decisions.
• Moral courage is the courage to put your moral principles into action even though you may be in doubt, are afraid, or face adverse consequences.”
• Will is the capacity to act decisively on one's desire
• Will power refers to the inner strength to make a decision, take action, and handle and execute any aim or task until it is accomplished, regardless of inner or outer resistance, discomfort or difficulties.
• Will also bestows the ability given to overcome laziness, temptations and negative habits and to carry out actions, even if they require effort, are unpleasant and tedious or are contrary to one's habit.
• It is important what moral courage sounds like in the instance of both what it is and what it is not.

Developing Will

• Develop the will by putting rational, moral choice into action.
• Develop and practice self-discipline.
• Do mental strength training
• Draw inspiration from people with great courage.
• Repeatedly do acts that exhibit moral courage and will
• Avoid deeds that show lack of moral courage and will.

Explore the natures of courage and will, understanding their importance in realizing moral principles and acting decisively. Learn strategies for cultivating these qualities, including overcoming inner resistance, engaging in moral choices, and drawing inspiration from courageous individuals.