Chapter 12. Developing as an Ethical Reasoner

One of the most significant obstacles to fair-mindedness is the human tendency to reason in a self-serving or self-deluded manner. This tendency is increased by the extent to which people are confused about the nature of ethical concepts and principles. In understanding ethical reasoning, the following foundations are essential:

  1. Ethical principles are not a matter of subjective preference.
  2. All reasonable people are obligated to respect clear-cut ethical concepts and principles.
  3. To reason well through ethical issues, we must know how to apply ethical concepts and principles reasonably to those issues.
  4. Ethical concepts and principles should be distinguished from the norms and taboos of society and ...

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