When we do moral philosophy, we reflect on how we ought to live. We ask what principles we ought to live by -- and why we should follow these principles instead of others. We consider various views and sort through them rationally.PhilosophyThese questions are about the Introduction to Harry Gensler's Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (London and New York, Routledge: 1998). These materials are copyrighted (c) 1998 by Harry J. Gensler; but they may be distributed freely.
To do philosophy is to reason about the ultimate questions of life -- questions like "Is there a God?" and "Are our actions free or determined?"Moral philosophyPhilosophy reasons about such questions. We first try to get clear on what the question is asking. Then we consider the range of possible answers. We criticize each answer as brutally as we can; and we eliminate views that lead to absurdities. We look for the most adequate of the remaining views. If we can't completely resolve the issue, at least we can hope to arrive at a well thought-out view.
Reasoning about philosophical questions involves constructing arguments, which consist in premises and a conclusion. We aim for clearly true premises from which our conclusion logically follows. The most common way to reason is to attack a view by showing that it logically implies things that are false or doubtful.
To do moral philosophy is to reason about the ultimate questions of morality. Moral philosophy has two parts:Our plan of attack1. Metaethics studies the nature and methodology of moral judgments. It deals with what "good" means, whether there are moral truths, and how we can justify or rationally defend beliefs about right and wrong.
Metaethics is more basic, since it studies the method for selecting moral principles and doing normative ethics.2. Normative ethics studies principles about how we ought to live. It looks for norms about what is right or wrong, worthwhile, virtuous, or just.
In this book we'll first consider various views about the nature and methodology of ethics. Then we'll consider a practical approach to moral rationality that stresses consistency and the golden rule. Then we'll deal with some issues of normative ethics.Web resources -- click below forIn studying moral philosophy, we'll be wrestling with some of the great questions of life, refining our thinking about morality, and sharpening our general thinking processes.
Some related links:
General philosophy links
Ethics updates
Ethics bibliography
Gensler's logic tutorial
Gensler's philosophy exercise page
The Routledge home page for Gensler's Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction