What is the ethical judgment?

Moral intuitions go by a number of different names. Some of us talk about ‘gut instinct’ or whether something passes the ‘sniff test’. Both terms suggest that there is some strong, basic belief about right and wrong that we can use to ground our judgements.

The problem is, despite the speed and strength of these intuitions, they are only as valuable as their source. Our intuitions can come from a range of sources: personal and family history, unconscious biases, custom, culture or a strong, stable and well-founded sense of what’s right.

Opinions differ on what we should do with our moral intuitions. Should we follow them, trusting them as a different kind of knowledge that draws on subconscious, non-rational and emotional cues? Should we ignore them, seeing them as irrational, unjustifiable claims about what’s right or wrong? Or should we treat them as one piece of evidence among many when we’re making a decision?

Resolving these questions requires us to work out what kind of intuitions we’re having. Some of our judgements about ethics can be based in a sense of disgust or ideas about what’s taboo (for instance, thinking about lab-grown meat), they can be the product of psychological biases like availability bias or halo effect, or social prejudices like racism, sexism, ableism or class-based moralities.

However, other intuitions may be based in our emotional response to a situation. Many of our emotions can reflect and inform our rational judgements. If something makes us angry, that’s information worthy of considering. If something makes us proud, that’s data we can use to help shape an opinion. Standing alone, ‘this made me feel sick’ isn’t sufficient information to form a moral judgement. But, the fact that learning about or witnessing something made you feel physically ill also isn’t something you should ignore lightly.

From the Nazis to ISIS, history is littered with groups who have encouraged their members to dismiss the evidence of their minds and bodies – such as feeling of disgust or shame at committing acts of murder – in order to serve some ‘higher’ goal. Dismissing the morally informative role of emotions can be used as a tool to pave the way to atrocity.

Whilst emotions alone should not be taken as sufficient for forming judgement, some believe there are kinds of intuitions that can, in and of themselves, reveal something ethically important to us.

For instance, we might have an intuition that all people are to be treated fairly, that it is wrong to intentionally harm an innocent person for no reason or that all people are to be treated with dignity. These are beliefs that moral intuitionists claim to be self-evident. These ideas don’t need to be justified or proven true, they just are. A moral intuitionist would argue that any person who disputes them is simply wrong.

Of course, not everyone accepts that there are self-evident principles on which to build an ethical system. These people, who are often associated with a philosophical school of thought known as rationalism, prioritise analytic reason, and hold that intuitions should be ignored. The only basis on which we should make ethical judgements is a rationally constructed argument. If, for instance, we think all people should be treated equally, we should make an argument to that effect. If we can’t, we don’t have good reasons to hold that belief.

What intuitionists and rationalists agree on is that making an ethical judgement is distinct from having a moral intuition. Our strong, immediate judgements about a situation are rarely – if ever – enough for us to make a decent appraisal of a situation.

However, the rationalist goal of eliminating emotion and intuition from the realm of ethical judgement is also false. Critical feminist and race scholars have highlighted the way that rationalists tend to paint a male, Western approach to thinking as a ‘universal’ rationality. In doing so, they tend to understate and invalidate other knowledge traditions and sources of moral judgement, including emotion.

For example, psychologist Laurence Kohlberg used a rationalist model of ethical decision-making to develop a stage theory of moral development. He thought rational, theoretical decision-making was more mature than decisions based on emotion, care and relationships. As a result, he concluded that boys tended to be more morally mature than their same-age female peers.

It took his student, feminist scholar Carol Gilligan, to point out that not only was Kohlberg’s assumption about rationality unjustified (it ignored, for example, the work of scholars like David Hume), it painted the difference between male and female moral reasoning as a deficiency in women rather than as a simple difference.

Perhaps we should take guidance from both rationalists and intuitionists. From the rationalist we can learn the understanding that our first judgement of a situation should not be our last. However, intuitionists remind us not to dismiss our initial judgements out of hand, but to interrogate and understand them. That way, next time, our intuitions will be a little closer to the mark.

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He ethical judgment it consists of taking the most appropriate decision in the face of a dilemma in which one must choose the one that is most in line with morals and ethics. It is an individual decision, although it is related to the moral values ​​of society.

To decide properly, the person must use the reason and choose the best option, based on their knowledge about what is right or wrong.

Although it is a tool that the human being has used since its appearance on the planet, the use of the concept dates back only to the eighteenth century. However, Ethics has been studied since the time of ancient Greece.

It is convenient not to confuse this type of judgment with morality because, although they share similarities, they have different characteristics. The main one is that, while in the ethical judgment it uses the reasoning to make the decision, the moral makes valuations on the actions or conducts.

Index

• 1 How did it emerge from the concept of ethical judgment?
• 2 Definition
• 3 characteristics
• 4 Examples of ethical judgment
• 5 Similarities and differences with moral
  • 5.1 Similarities
  • 5.2 Differences
• 6 Differences between ethical judgment and moral judgment
• 7 References

How did it emerge from the concept of ethical judgment?

The term"ethics"has many centuries of history. It comes from the Greek word"ethos", which means custom. Ethics - as part of philosophy - studies good and evil, and its relationship with the human being.

Another meaning attributed to it is the total of customs and norms in human behavior.

As for the concept ethical judgment It is much more recent. It began to be used in the eighteenth century as a way to solve interpersonal or social problems.

Definition

Ethical judgment is defined as the reasoning necessary to be able to choose the most convenient action or attitude among those presented in a given situation.

This decision must be based on social norms, or on the set of values ​​that society considers correct. In this way, this type of trial seeks to help solve any ethical dilemma that appears.

Thanks to him, the different options are analyzed and the one that best fits the situation is taken, without breaking the moral norms, whether social or personal.

characteristics

Some of the main characteristics of the ethical judgment are the following:

-To effect this, some abstract moral principles are taken into account.

-It is not partial when judging the rights of others, but that they are respected.

-The individual is placed first in front of social relationships.

-Only is a way to achieve a fair result, without prejudging the results.

-The important thing is the procedure used.

-All human beings use it during all their life, even if the end result is harmful to themselves.

-It is about using a concept of universal justice when making decisions.

Examples of ethical judgment

Virtually every important decision a person makes during their life uses this type of judgment. Training the individual to be able to do them is one of the bases of education.

In general, it can be noted that when it is decided not to commit any criminal act is a great example of these judgments.

It is not a choice due to the fear of punishment, but because it contravenes the moral codes accepted by society. The consequences for the social group and for the loved ones are taken into account.

Concrete examples

1- A politician who has been discovered lying about something person loses his credibility and ceases to be trusted in his public activities.

2 - When seeing one person treat another wrongly, all end up judging him and thinking that his performance is not correct.

3- Those who mistreat animals receive a severe judgment by those who are aware of it. This abuser is usually classified as a cruel person. He even extrapolates his performance thinking that it can also harm humans.

4- The one who copies in an exam stops having the confidence of his teachers. He also gets reproach from colleagues who have tried hard.

5- Harassment in the school supposes, apart from the penal consequences, a severe ethical judgment on the part of the whole society.

Similarities and differences with moral

Morality is a field that has been studied since the times of classical Greece.

Although there have been different definitions over the centuries, today is considered as the set of rules that human beings living in society must follow to maintain harmony and good coexistence.

Although there may be people outside this common moral, the vast majority are immersed in the codes that dictates.

Similarities

Both in the ethical and moral judgment, there are a series of rules or perceptions about how each one's behavior should be.

When speaking of morality, the norms have been transmitted by the culture of society, with a teaching that goes from generation to generation. Ethics is how the individual has adapted morality to their own way of being and thinking.

Differences

One of the main differences between the concepts of moral and ethics is the scope of development. While the first can vary depending on society and culture, ethics is much more personal, even if it comes from one's morals.

Thus, ethics needs a greater individual intervention, since it is the individual who must internalize it and use it in its judgments. In this way, it can be affirmed that ethics is born of individual thought, of conscience, of each person.

As mentioned, morality is external, social and has a greater burden of obligation if you want to maintain a good coexistence in the community in which you live.

Precisely for that reason, moral obligations are much more coercive.

In certain societies, for example, a single pregnant woman will be judged very harshly by community morals. Even if there is no criminal punishment, it can be assumed that the future mother will be socially excluded and despised.

Meanwhile, it is the intellect and rationality that counts most in the personal ethical sense. Although it has influence of social morality, the individual must adapt it to their thoughts and beliefs.

In the previous case of the single mother, someone can ethically judge that the attitude of despising her and giving her shelter and help is wrong, even if it contravenes the general morality.

Differences between ethical judgment and moral judgment

Given the above explanation, the differences between ethical judgment and moral judgment are easily deductible. In the first, reason comes into play fundamentally.

It is the individual who must rationally consider the consequences of the actions. T All this process is done according to the rules of society, but there is also scope for own rules.

In the case of moral judgment, individual options are more limited. Simply, it is about assessing whether the action is positive or negative.

For this, it takes into account the set of rules that society has defined as correct or incorrect. It can be said that it is much stricter than the ethical one.

References

1. Meanings What is Ethical Judgment? Recovered from meanings.com.
2. ITESCAM. The moral judgment and ethical judgment. Recovered from recursos.salonesvirtuales.com.
3. Theoretical framework. Moral judgment and ethical judgment. Recovered from marcoteorico.com.
4. Psychology dictionary. Ethical Judgment. Retrieved from psychologydictionary.org.
5. Baiada-Hireche, Loréa; Garreau, Lionel. Exploring the dynamics of ethical judgment: The Sensemaking-Based Evolution Model. Retrieved from strategie-aims.com.
6. Leibniz Universität Hannover. Ethical Judgment. Retrieved from didageo.uni-hannover.de.
7. BBC Ethics: a general introduction. Retrieved from bbc.co.uk
8. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. Retrieved from scu.edu.