A Proposal on a Philosophical Appraisal of Joseph Fletcher’s New Morality
Objective of study
To determine what moral decision to take in a moral situation.
LITERATURE REVIEW
MORAL DECISIONS
Immanuel Kant
Kant’s fame extends to almost every branch of philosophy, and is by no means least in that part of the discipline, which has to do with moral discourse. Kant spoke of moral obligations as a categorical imperative. In his Critique of Pure Reason, he writes:
I assume that there really exist pure moral laws, which entirely a priori determine the acts and omissions, that is, the use of the freedom of any rational being, and these laws command absolutely and are therefore absolutely necessary
Kant is here, saying that when rational beings consider what they ought to do, their practical reason commands them to act independently of any particular desires or aims or motives. It is possible according to Kant, to act from one or a combination of three sorts of motives: from the motive of complying with the a priori command of reason expressed in the moral law, from the motive of satisfying as many desires as possible so as to get the greatest possible happiness for oneself or from completely irrational desire or inclination. According to Kant, only the first sort of motive is wholly rational. There is something rational in seeking ones own happiness. To be moved by love as the situationist holds or hate for someone is, in Kant’s terminology, to be moved by inclinations, and this is not rational at all. Kant does not say that actions inspired by love have no value at all but he does not think that it has moral value as such. According to Kant, morality involves answering to the call of duty and nothing can be our duty, which we are unable to do.
There is an important logical difference between such a precept as in “Thou shall not lie”, and prudential, happiness –securing precepts such as “honesty is the best policy”. For Kant, thou shall not lie, is a universal and rational command that would be binding on rational beings other than man, if there were such a being. Honesty is the best policy on the other hand, may generally lead to the happiness of those who adopt it, but occasions may arise when departure from the precept might bring still more happiness. It may be suggested, however, that behaviours motivated by love for others should take precedence over following moral rules or acting with a view of doing one’s duty. This is in line with what the adherers of situation ethics do maintain that spontaneous love is superior to the following of moral rules. According to Kant’s terminology, someone who acts in order to fulfill the moral law acts from ‘goodwill or duty’. Actions from self –love may be good or may be bad, accordingly, as the consequences are good or bad, and so are action resulting from love as a mere inclination. But action from good will according to Kant is always good and can never be bad. As H. B Acton puts it “It is good without qualification or unreservedly good” An action prompted and guided by the rational moral will, with the intention of performing a duty, of doing what is right retains its value as a moral action even if it turns out badly as a result of some unhappy chance beyond the agent’s control. It follows from this that an action does not derive its moral value from the result it succeeds in bringing about, but from the type of willed action intended by the agent. Kant therefore believes that morally good actions are those with morally good intension and that actions with morally good intension are actions carried out from duty. Such actions he says, have an inner worth. Kant made a remark as regards to one making a moral decision.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design will be considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design will be suitable for the study as the study sought the relevance of folktale in the teaching of literature in senior secondary schools.
Sources of data collection
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as by products of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups will be also used.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- AUGUSTINE, Library of Christian Classics, London: 1938.
- ACTON, H.B., Kant’s Moral Philosophy, London: SCM Press Ltd, 1966.
- BERDYER, N., The Destiny of Man, New York: Charles Company, 1907.
- COMPOSTA, D., Moral Philosophy and Social Ethics, India: Theological publications, 1988.
- CRAIG, E., Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol.8, Padstow: T. J. International Ltd., 1998.
- EBOH B, O., Living Issues in Ethics, Nsukka: Afro-Orbis Pub. Company, 2005.
- FAGOTHEY, A., Right and Reason 6th edition, U.S.A: The C. V. Morby Company, 1976.
- FLETCHER, J., Situation Ethics, London: The Westminster press, 1966.
- HIGGINS, T., Man as man (ethics), U.S.A: The Bruce publishing company, 1958.
- JAMES, W., Pragmatism, U.S.A: Longmans and Green Company, 1907.
- KIERKEGAARD, S., Fear and Trembling, Princeton: Princeton University press, 1983.
- KIERKEGAARD, S., The Journal, U.S.A: Oxford University Press
- LENZER, G.,Positivism, U.S.A: Grolier Incorporated, 2001.
- MACINTYRE, A., A Short History of Ethics, Padstow: The Macmillan Company, 1966.
- MARITAIN, J.,Moral Philosophy, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970.
