Week 2: CheckPoint - Final Project Topic
Grade: 25/25
Professor: James Nzokah
Chosen question: What is
moral obligation? What is the extent of our moral obligation to other
people and other living things?
The initial assumption is that "moral" is the concept of right and
wrong. Moral obligation is then the necessity to due right to an
entity. The entity would vary depending on the scope of the
ethic. The following are then the issues which would need to be
resolved to ascertain the scope of a moral obligation ethic.
The core element of the moral obligation will be on whether there is a
fixed metric for morality. If morality is relative then what is
the scope of the relativism? Some possibilities for the scope of
relativism include individual and cultural relativism.
Furthermore, if there is moral relativism then is there any obligation
to anyone other than the individual; and if there isn't is the person
even obligated to himself? Secondarily, even under moral
relativism is there a common "moral" framework that must be accepted to
have a functioning society?
With a fixed metric of morality is there a fixed authority to set the
moral ethic or it is inherent in our person? Secondarily, is
their a unifying principle to the fixed moral code that unifies all of
it together? Furthermore, can there be an exception to a fixed
moral code without it falling back to moral relativism?
Finally, the "extent of the moral obligation to other people and other
living things" will be influenced on whether there is a fixed or
relative moral code. The scope can ultimately involve all things,
but may be limited to just living things, animals, humans, or near
proximity people. Secondarily, does the moral obligation involve
preventing harm, or just involve actively doing no harm?
My initial presuppositions are that: (1) There is a fixed moral
code and any form of relativism eventually deteriorates into
meaningless nihilism; (2) There is a unifying moral code, and it is
knowable; (3) There are no exceptions to the moral code due its
tiered nature that more important things overrule lesser items when in
conflict; and (4) the moral code extends through all things though all
things do not carry equal value, and hence less moral responsibility.
© Erik Smith 2005
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