THE PLURALITY OF MORAL JUDGMENTS
Moral judgments operates under three different standards
1. The standard of self - respect
2. The aspirational standard
3. The inspirational standard
The standard of self - respect
● Articulates one’s moral expectations concerning one’s behavior and attitudes.
● The kind of standard we seek to maintain.
ASPIRATIONAL STANDARD
● A much higher standard which arises whenever we are dissatisfied with our own self
–respect standards
● One that contains our desire for moral progress
INSPIRATIONAL STANDARD
● Our standard of moral perfection.
● Standard of moral perfection by means of which we rank all other standards. Its
distinctness from the standard we seek to attain may be seen from the fact that we do
not ordinarily aspire to be heroes or saints
WHAT ARE MORAL STANDARDS?
● It is wider than a moral rule since it is composed of rules
● A’ s self – respect standard may require with rules x, y, and z.
● The concept of a moral standards suggests a scale of standards
● Moral standards concerned with policies, dispositions, and actions
❖ Moral rules are meant to enforce, prescribe what actions to take; moral standards relate with
moral judgments; how actions are evaluated based on the rules.
ASPECT OF MORALITY
1. Obligational aspect
2. The aspirational –inspirational aspect
3. Heroes and saints (too taxing, we can choose to become better persons instead)
HOW DO MORAL STANDARDS FUNCTION?
The standard of self - respect
● Best understood on occasions were we experience the shame of lost self - respect
a) Due to our violation of a rule
b) Due to an awareness of the lawness of our standards –rising to a new level
Self - respect standards protect us from moral decline and provide a means to recover from
moral decay
The aspirational standard
● Learning to control our moral satisfaction
● Stimulates us to be morally healthy so that we grow morally
● Tool for moral progress
WHY ARE THESE STANDARDS IMPORTANT?
● To inspire us through its direction
● A means to rank other moral standards
● To approximate moral perfection
SOME ISSUES
● Ought does not imply can
● Knowing does not lead to doing
Since we know of a higher standard, why should we be guided by a lower one?
EVIDENT TRUISMS
● One cannot estimate one’s moral potential
● Moral potentialities are inestimable since moral progress can be achieved between birth
and death
● One can have genuine religious conversion