FRAMEWORK FOR

MORAL DELIBERATION
Objectives
I. To be able to know the steps of moral deliberation and its
implications on our daily lives.

II. To be able to apply the steps of moral deliberation on our

decision making process.

III. To be able to empathize with others through proper moral

deliberation before enacting a decision.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENT
FOR MORALITY
 Identifying and setting up the Ethical
STEP 1
Problem.

STEP 2 What are the relevant facts?

STEP 3 Who are the stakeholders?

STEP 4 What are the available options?

ETHICAL STANDARDS
The Utilitarian Approach
An ethical action is the one that provides the
most good or does the least harm, or, to put it
another way, produces the greatest balance of
good over harm.
The Rights Approach
An ethical action is the one that best protects
and respects the moral rights of those affected.
The Fairness or Justice Approach
Ethical actions treat all human beings equally-or
if unequally, then fairly based on some standard
that is defensible.
The Common Good Approach
This approach suggests that the interlocking
relationships of society are the basis of ethical
reasoning and that respect and compassion for
all others-especially the vulnerable-are
requirements of such reasoning.
The Virtue Approach
Ethical actions ought to be consistent with
certain ideal virtues that provide for the full
development of our humanity.
DOUBLE CHECKING THE
DECISION
Check if the arguments that entails
our decisions are sound and valid.

Valid Argument = Premise logically entail its conclusion

Invalid = Premises do not entail its conclusion
Sound = True premises and valid reasoning
Unsound = Invalid reasoning or at least one premises is
false
Ask yourself the following questions:

What are the best and worse-case scenarios if I choose

this particular option?
Can I honestly live with myself if I make this decision?
Will I be able to defend this decision to that claimant
who has lost the most or been harmed the most?
The Ought vs. the Can
Ought Can
The Ought expresses the The Can expresses the
objective pole of morality. subjective pole of a
This imperative is what persons capacity to
ethical reflection tries to choose right or wrong.
uncover.
Moral judgments must be backed by good reasons

We must avoid making judgments on the basis of

feelings alone.
Our facts should be truthful and impartial.
Moral theories and principles should be used to justify
(not rationalize) our actions and decisions.
The Requirement of Impartiality

Each individual's interests are equally important.