Moral Decision Making -- An Analysis

Chris MacDonald, Ph.D.

Revised June 6, 2002

1.0 What is Morality?

Generally, morality is a system of rules that modifies our behaviour in social situations. It's about
the doing of good instead of harm, and it sets some standard of virtuous conduct.

1.1 Where Does Morality Come From?

When asked about morality, many people respond like this: "Oh, that's all just a matter of
personal opinion anyway, right?" But if you look at the way in which moral values actually work in
our everyday lives, you'll see that this is not the case. Personal intuitions are important, of course.
But morality generally comes into play when people interact with each other. This suggests that
morality is a system of "shared" values which "justify" actions. As such, morality is about deciding
on best courses of action in all situations. As you'll see, there are quotation marks around the
words "shared" and "justify" for a reason.

1.1.1 "Shared" Values

Moral values are generally shared values. If we did not have an values in common, it would be
exceedingly difficult to agree on any one course of action. But since there is often disagreement
as to what is the right thing to do in any situation, we can see that in fact, various values are
shared to a greater or lesser extent. On some values there will be nearly unanimous agreement.
On others, there may be considerable disagreement.

1.1.2 Points of Agreement

There are a number of moral values on which there is extremely wide agreement. For example,
all cultures that I know of place value on truth-telling, and place strong restrictions on lying. As
another example, all cultures of which I am aware have rules against doing unnecessary harm to
other people (although they vary regarding what constitutes "unnecessary harm"). Other such
shared values include (among many others) loyalty, justice, and promise- keeping.

1.1.3 Room for Disagreement

Of course, if everyone agreed on the importance of these values, there would be no problem.
However, even if we all agree on which values are important, we may still disagree over the
relative importance of the various values. For example, you and I may both agree that telling the
truth and avoiding harming others are important. But which is more important, when these
conflict? For example, if faced with lying to protect someone's feelings, which value should take
priority? It is on questions like this that we are most likely to differ. Why not just agree to differ,
then? Well, as suggested above, morality is in some sense social. As a result, we are going to
need to justify our actions to each other.

1.2 The Meaning of Moral "Justification"

The word "justification" is commonly used in two different senses, one positive and the other
negative.

The negative sense is the one which is typically accompanied by an accusation that the justifier is
being insincere. It is in this sense that fast-talkers are sometimes accused of being able to
"justify" anything and everything. This use is typified by statements like, "Justify your behaviour
however you want...it's still wrong!" It suggests that the "justifier" is merely coming up with
excuses for her behaviour, excuses that even she doesn't believe.

The positive sense of justification, on the other hand, involves bringing others to see our actions
as reasonable. In this sense, a course of action is justified if there are better reasons in favour of
it than there are against it. Preferably, these reasons should be ones that other people could
agree are good ones. It is this sense of justification that is important for morality. Moral
justification, then, means showing that there are more or better moral reasons weighing for a
course of action than against it.

1.3 The Importance of Context

There probably is no generally correct answer to questions like, "Which is more important, telling
the truth or preventing harm?" A lot depends on context. In some cases, it is probably more
important to tell the truth. In others, it is probably more important to prevent harm. A number of
factors make up the context, including factors of time and place, the type and nature of the
relationships involved, other people's reasonable expectations, and the relevant history of the
situation. A standard example of a context in which it seems right to lie is this: you are a citizen of
Nazi Germany, 1940. You are hiding a family of Jews in your attic. The German police come to
your door and ask whether you know the whereabouts of that particular family of Jews. This
seems a clear case in which preventing harm seems more important than telling the truth.

A contrary case might be the following: Imagine that an acquaintance of yours reveals that she
has committed manslaughter and that she's very remorseful about it. You are called into court to
testify. You know that if you tell the truth, she will go to jail (i.e. suffer a harm). The remorse she
shows suggests that she will never commit another crime if she is not sent to jail. Our instincts
probably tell us that you should nonetheless tell the truth in such a case, even if it seems likely to
do more literal harm than good. This decision might be made on the grounds that truth telling is
part of supporting a system of justice that we think overall fair and very valuable.

1.3.1 The Importance of Relationships

To a large extent, morality is about relationships. Our rights and obligations spring largely from
the relationships which we have with people and institutions. These include (among others) our
relationships to our family, friends, clients or patients, our students, our workplace, our profession,
our religious or cultural traditions, our fellow citizens, and our nation. These relationships can give
us important moral reasons for certain kinds of actions. For example, your relationship with
certain children -- your own children -- means that you have moral duties to them (namely to feed,
cloth, and nurture them) that you don't have to other people's children. Another example might be
the obligations one has to other members of one's professional group. It is important in this
respect to think not just of the fact that a given relationship exists, but also about the nature and
history of that relationship, and about the legitimate moral expectations that go along with it.

1.4 Moral Questions are not Distinct

Moral problems are not limited to any particular kind of situation. Morality is not a separate,
special domain which needs to be consulted only on rare occasions. Moral issues surround us all
the time. Many decisions we make have moral importance: often, the challenge is just a matter of
recognizing that fact. Morality is best seen as involving the 'best choice overall,' once matters of
prudence, economics, and technical (e.g., medical) appropriateness have been taken into
consideration, and balanced against other sorts of values.

1.5 The Importance and Place of Moral Theory

If morality is about 'shared values,' then why do we need moral theory? Why should we care what
philosophers and ethicists have to say? Why not just take an opinion poll and figure out exactly
what our shared values are?
Moral theory seeks to introduce a degree of rationality and rigour into our moral deliberations. Our
moral sentiments on any given topic will be less convincing to others if they are based on poor
reasoning or factual inaccuracies. Moral philosophers also attempt to single out moral beliefs
which are either self-contradictory or mutually exclusive. This is not to say that all our moral
beliefs must be strictly rational, but rather that our beliefs are better for being considered beliefs,
rather than knee-jerk reactions to individual issues.

There is also something to be said for the very process of theory-building. Sitting down to work
out a coherent theory that explains our moral beliefs can illuminate existing contradictions, and
can help us to find patterns of moral thought that are more stable and which will be easier to learn
and teach.

2.0 Moral Decision Making

There is no formula or algorithm for moral decision making. It is not a process which can easily be
based on a determinate set of rules. It is also important to see that good moral decision making
involves more than just acting on hunches or intuitions, though these, too, are important. Good
moral decision making involves a) knowing the facts of the situation, and b) careful consideration
of the moral values (some call these principles) that are relevant to a given situation.
Importantly, it involves sensitivity to the moral dimensions of everyday situations, and an
awareness of the range of interests involved in specific decisions.

2.1 Getting the Facts Straight

Any attempt to make a good decision has to begin with getting the facts of the situation straight.
In some cases which seem at first quite difficult, additional facts are enough to make the correct
course of action apparent. If, for example, we wish to decide how much of our forests should be
cut down now, and how much left for future generations, we need first to establish some facts
about the rate at which forests regenerate. These facts might be ascertained through science, or
just through the experiences of people who have observed forests over long periods of time.

2.2 The Importance of Moral Sensitivity

The primary skill involved in making good moral decisions is sensitivity to the moral issues
involved in so many of our everyday activities. Quite often we may act in an morally questionable
manner just because we were insensitive to the moral nature of the situation. Of course,
sometimes we may do the right thing just by instinct, without reflecting at all on what we are
doing. For any number of trivial decisions, this is entirely appropriate. For example, most of us do
not require intensive moral deliberation to avoid lying in most cases. But that is not always the
case. Often, making the right decision requires a real sensitivity to the moral dimension of a
situation, as well as to the range of interests involved.
2.2.1 Sensitivity to Moral Aspects of Decisions
As was suggested above, moral issues surround us all the time. Many decisions we make have
moral importance: often, its just a matter of recognizing that fact. This is crucial, since the first
step in problem solving is always identifying the problem.

Sometimes, due to the technical nature of a problem, we fail to recognize that it also has an moral
dimension. We may think that the decision can be made based on purely technical criteria, and
therefore we may be blind to the moral significance of the situation. It is crucial to be sensitive to
the fact that many technical questions have important moral components. The decision of which
medicine to prescribe for a particular condition, for example, involves making not just a technical
decision about efficacy, but also a value judgment concerning the relative acceptability of various
side effects and various risks.

Sometimes the moral importance of a situation may also be covered up by statements like,
"There's nothing immoral about it: it's just a matter of economics." As suggested above, the
morally best course of action in any situation takes matters of economics and technical
appropriateness into account, but is not overridden by these.

2.2.2 Sensitivity to a Range of Considerations

Once a problem has been identified as having moral importance, the first and perhaps most
important step in resolving the problem lies in identifying the range of considerations which
should be taken into account. This includes an awareness of the various parties who will be
affected by the decision taken, sensitivity to the range of values or principles which might be
applied to the question at hand, as well as sensitivity to other contextual or historical factors
which might justifiably influence the decision. Sometimes, just laying all of these factors out
explicitly can help to define or clarify the issue.

2.3 The Role of Discussion in Morality

If, as suggested above, morality is primarily about shared values, then discussion takes a central
place in moral decision making. We seldom make decisions in a vacuum. Other parties are
generally involved, and there are a number of reasons to include others in our decision making
processes.

2.3.1 Discussion as a Means of Consensus-Building

One good reason for giving discussion a central place in moral decision making is that it is often
important that others around us agree with -- or at least understand -- our decisions.
Professionals, in particular, are often part of a team. Also, it is often the case that others will have
to carry out, or help to carry out, the decisions we make. If all interested parties play a role in
decision making, they will feel better about their involvement in carrying out that decision. It is
often important to us -- both psychologically and morally important -- that others "buy-into" our
moral decisions.

2.3.2 Discussion as a Way of Learning from Others

There are at least two ways in which we can learn from discussing moral questions with others.
The first is a short-term gain in terms of the range of considerations brought to bear on the
question. As the saying goes, "two heads are better than one." Involving others in our moral
decision making means that these others can provide insight or experience which is different from
our own.

The second way in which we can learn from discussing moral questions with others is a long-term
gain in moral understanding. We can come to understand a general class of problems better by
seeing other people's points of view. As in any other kind of reasoning, we can improve the quality
of our moral decision making by listening to the sorts of reasons provided by others. We can often
learn much from persons who we see as being particularly wise, or as making particularly good
moral decisions with some consistency.

It should be noted, of course, that issues of privacy and confidentiality will sometimes limit
possibilities for discussing particular problems with others.

3.0 A Guide to Moral Decision Making

As stated above in Section 2.0, there is no formula for moral decision making. This should not be
surprising: neither are there formulae for making good medical diagnoses, or for giving good legal
advice. All of these involve significant elements of experience and sensitivity. However, it is
possible to establish helpful guidelines that will aid us in the process. One such set of guidelines
is presented in my "Guide to Moral Decision Making" (see below). These steps absolutely will not
guarantee that a good decision is made, but they should at least help assure that decisions are
not made in an overly hasty manner, or without sufficient consideration of the subtleties of the
problem.