The Concept of Moral Reasons - Essay Example

In addition, the public and the school are also involved because they do not support abortion. Jane has a moral stake in admitting that she has been eavesdropping on the conversation of her best friend, and acting that is ethically wrong. She should be a loyal friend to Sue, who does not invade her privacy without her knowledge. In addition, Jane has a moral stake of revealing that Sue and her younger brother have been sexually active and that Sue is considering an abortion.

The school has a moral stake because it needs to maintain high levels of morality and a remarkable reputation. Without a doubt, the moral stakes of Jane and Sue are conflicting. If Jane decides to admit that she has been eavesdropping on Sue, their friendship will be compromised due to the invasion of privacy. In addition, if Jane decides to tell the truth about Sue’s plan of carrying out an abortion, she will also be putting the interests of her brother at risk. On the other hand, Sue’s moral stake involves telling the truth that she has been sexually active and taking responsibility for her actions by keeping the baby.

Sue also needs to identify the real father of her unborn child. It is Sue’s right to expect her phone call conversations to be entirely private (Fink, 2008). Assuming you are a deontologist like W.D. Ross, how would you weigh the different moral stakes, interests, or duties against each other? That is, are some moral stakes “weightier” than others? Are some moral considerations or interests or stakes more important than others? Can you rank them? From the case study, it is evident that Sue’s right to privacy is not as important as a violation of moral law and taking one’s life through an abortion.

In addition, Sue’s right to privacy appears to be less important than her indulgence in irresponsible sexual activity and secretly considering an abortion. In the case of Jane, invasion of privacy appears to be a less important issue than exposing the truth, which can save the life of an unborn child. From the facts provided in the case, Jane should reveal the truth that she has been eavesdropping on Sue’s conversation. On the other hand, Sue should admit that she has been indulging in sexual activity and that she is pregnant.

She should also be willing to take up the responsibility of bringing up the unborn child. Jane’s younger brother should also assume the responsibilities of a father if he is the one responsible for impregnating Sue (Vaughn, 2013). How would a Utilitarian Approach this Case? From a utilitarian approach, the right thing to do would be the one that promotes good for everyone. Therefore, Jane should not say anything about Sue’s pregnancy. Therefore, she will not be compelled to admit that she was eavesdropping, and their friendship will normally continue.

In addition, if Jane keeps quiet, she will save her brother the trouble of being involved in a scandal because of his sexual activity. If Sue goes on with the abortion, she will have cleared the evidence of her sexual irresponsibility and will remain in the school without anyone suspecting her actions. However, Sue is likely to suffer the effects of her actions in the future when the truth about the abortion eventually comes out (Vaughn, 2013). How do you know an issue is moral or not? How do you distinguish it from other types of arguments, non-moral arguments?

A moral argument involves conflicting ethical beliefs and moral stakes. Moral arguments involve actions that have the potential to harm or help the individual, as well as other people in society. Therefore, a moral argument has alternatives that the individual can choose from depending on their level of morality. On the other hand, non-moral arguments do not have any ethical principles or moral stakes (Fink, 2008). What is the structure of a moral argument; what must an argument have to be considered a valid moral argument?

Moral arguments comprise of two elements. The first element is a conclusion supported by the ethical beliefs while the second element comprises premises that denote the reasons for supporting the conclusion (Vaughn, 2013).