╨╧рб▒с>■  \^■   [                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴s ┐Q5jbjb└ └ "ДкkкkQ1      ]╪╪╪╪╪╪╪XXXXX dTXП*╘╘╘╘╘╘╘╘LNNNNNN,╣Їнlz╪╘╘╘╘╘z╘╪╪╘╘╘╘╘╘╘╪╘╪╘Lь6"6╪╪╪╪╘L╘x╘L╪╪L╕Жor╢XX╘LC.I.M. Outline #38 MAKING MORAL DECISIONS I. Introduction A. Someone made the comment that the greatest question of our time is: "Why should Ibe moral?" B. The current ethical dilemma in our society is well- illustrated by a recent incident at the U. of Calif. at Berkeley. A male student came to class wearing nothing but shoes. The authorities were at a loss as to what they should do. "After all, we are a pluralistic society and who are we to impose our values on him"? The student repeated his behavior for two weeks before it was concluded that he was guilty of sexual harassment! B. Ethics is the study concerned with the question of "oughtness". On what basis, or on what grounds should I act one way rather than another? What makes an action good or bad? Is there some standard by which to judge behavior? Or, what is the "good"? In philosophy, this is known as the search for the summum bonum, "the highest good". III. Elements of an Ideal Ethical System A. The Necessity of a Standard 1. An ethical system must have a non-question-begging standard, a law above the law, by which all laws can descend. This highest good must be universally applicable to all cultures and generations. 2. This standard must come from a transcendent source. Rousseau said: "To discover the rules of society that are best suited to nations there would need to exist a superior intelligence, who could understand the passions of men without feeling any of them, who had no affinity with our nature, but knew it to the full, whose happiness was independent of ours, but who would nevertheless make our happiness his concern, who would be content to wait in the fullness of time for distant glory, and to labour in one age to enjoy the fruits in another. Gods would be needed to give men laws." THE SOCIAL CONTRACT, p.84. B. The Need for Justice Any ethical system must provide justice in balanced measure at both individual and corporate levels; it must function in the here and now, and it must be final. C. The Need of a Motive An ethical system must have a motivating factor. Knowing one's duty is insufficient. There must be a desire and ability to fulfill the demands. D. The Need for Balance between Rules and Results Some ethical systems are rules oriented. Results do not matter; the emphasis is always on keeping the rules regardless of the consequences. Other systems are result oriented, i.e. the end justifies the means. A good ethical system should have the proper balance between rules and results. E. The Need for a Model An ethical system should have some form of guidance, or model, which aids in making ethical decisions in a variety of circumstances. II. Ethical Options (systems seeking to define the "good") (It should be noted that all systems have some value or "good" that they view in an absolute way. In our opinion, total relativism in a practical sense is impossible. There will always be ethical absolutes. The real and important question is one of derivation.) A. The Arbitrary Way The definition of "good" or what I ought to do, is purely arbitrary. Forms: 1. Personal or existential: The "good" is whatever an individual decides based on pleasure, aesthetics, or emotion. Hemingway said: " `good' is what I like", i.e. hedonism. CRITIQUE: If every man does that which is right in his own eyes (see the book of Judges) there cannot be community. Those who hold this view cannot be consistent. Try to take one of their possessions! 2. Totalitarian: "Might makes right". The "good" is decided arbitrarily by or from a position of strength. It may be a parent or a dictator! It's right because I said so. CRITIQUE: This view can produce a highly ordered and stable society, but at the expense of human dignity and freedom. B. The Rational Way Forms: 1. Moderation: The "good" is somewhere between two extremes. CRITIQUE: At the first this may have some appeal as in some courses of action, moderation is called for. However, it assumes one can always reason a moderate course of action. Also, in some cases extreme action is called for, e.g. in self-defense, or war. Should you love your spouse moderately? 2. Utilitarianism: The "good" is what brings the greatest pleasure to the greatest number. Some substitute love or justice for pleasure. CRITIQUE: It is virtually impossible to implement. How does the average man in the street calculate his every action? Also, how does one define "pleasure", "love", or "justice"? What is justice for one may not be for another. Is what you are now doing bringing the greatest good to the greatest number? If not, then what you are now doing is immoral according to this view! This view also has another fatal flaw. If the person doing the reasoning is not morally perfect to begin with, how is he expected to reason out a system free of imperfection? C. The Empirical Way The "good" is derived from scientific observation. This is also called the Naturalistic Ethic. This ethical system has great appeal even in some Christian circles. In otherwords, we can determine what is right and wrong by observing nature. There are many varieties of this approach. Some say the "good" is what insures survival. Others say the good is what maintains the ecological balance, what preserves the species, or the genes. CRITIQUE: A major flaw in this system is similar to the above--the person doing the observation. How can we be certain that correct observations are being made? This view also commits the "is-ought" fallacy, or, whatever is, is right! "My behavior is right because it is the way I am". Have you heard this recently? D. The Democratic Way or Consensus This view believes that the "good", or the values of a society should be decided by a consensus of opinion. This is certainly the prevalent view in our own culture. In the '60s, Marshall McLuhan foresaw the ethical dilemma coming upon Western Civilization as a result of the erosion of Christian values. He also envisioned a solution when he predicted that in the future, every living human being on planet earth would be connected to a central computer. The computer would be able to calculate a world-wide consensus on the subject of values (see UNDERSTANDING THE MEDIA, 1964). Today, this is the way politicians operate. Laws are made according to opinion polls. During the last presidential election, one candidate in particular, saw his role as simply being efficient in implementing what the people want. CRITIQUE: This is a tyranny of the majority. If the 51% are right, what about the 49%? If 51% believe cannibalism is ok, is it ok? With this system, what you must reckon with, is that what is true today, may not be true tomorrow. E. There is no Right or Wrong There are two forms: (1)Materialistic monism: "Consciousness of Right" or "wrong" is simply a brain state. Preference for a certain behavior is simply an expression of an emotional state which is reducible to electro-chemical state of the brain. (2)Eastern Monism: good and evil are illusions. CRITIQUE: No one holding this view can live this way; it is self- defeating. For example: if someone says "There is no right or wrong; it's just a state of the brain". Respond by saying: "So is your assertion!" Is the statement: "There is no right or wrong", true or false? F. Transcendental or Revealed Way An Uncreated Being (wholly transcendent) created man to be a moral being like Himself. Since He is the Creator, all meaning and truth is based on His essence or nature. The Creator, because He is the Creator, makes the rules for His Creatures. The rules are based on who He is. The major strength of the Christian worldview is its ethical system. It meets all the criteria of an ideal system. It has an unchanging standard; when fully applied it brings justice; there is a motive for obeying the standard; and there is a perfect Model (Christ). The major criticism of Christian ethics is: How can we know that the Bible is really from God? Many non- christian thinkers down through the ages have confessed that they do not believe Christianity is true, but yet they openly confess that they like its ethical system. Bertrand Russell, one of Christianity's most ardent critics said: "What the world needs is Christian love or compassion." (THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON SOCIETY, p.114). Many non-christians, like Russell, want to smuggle in Christian values knowing full well the bankruptcy of their own worldviews. III. Conclusion Christians believe that certain things are right and certain things are wrong, and, that they are, and will remain so for all time, and that in the future there will be a final judgement where perfect justice will be administered. Furthermore, if Christianity is true, it means that all non-christian ethical systems, when consistently applied, are destructive and self-defeating. Application: Telling a homosexual his behavior is wrong because the Bible says so will generally bring the following response: "I don't believe the Bible is true. You can't impose your beliefs on me. I cannot help the way I am." A better approach might be to inquire on what basis he makes moral decisions. Any of the above systems he chooses will be self-condemning. For instance: if he chooses a natural argument: "I behave this way because of the way I am". Assume his assumption is true for the sake of argument. What then is to prevent you from saying "it is alright for me to want to eliminate homosexuals because I view them as a threat to survival" (a natural argument!). Note: the argumentation should be done in the light of I Pet 3:15 ("with gentleness and respect..."). If the Holy Spirit brings conviction he will see two things: the absurdity of his position and his moral culpability. This will be the appropriate time to share God's standard and God's Remedy. (See Romans 1). (For a fuller development this subject request CIM's paper "A Christian View of Ethics". (23 pages) Christian Information Ministries is a non-profit ministry and is dependent on gifts from God's people in order to operate. If you receive a benefit from our materials would you consider giving a tax-deductible gift to CIM. We suggest $25. a year minimum. Send to: Christian Information Ministries 2050 N. 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