Morality, We Should Be Impartial Essay - 1474 Words

It’s natural to think that when it comes to morality, we should be impartial. And yet almost everyone thinks it is appropriate to treat certain people, like those who are near and dear to them, in a special sort of way. For example, while having food and clothing is clearly a good, it seems that I have a special obligation to my own children over the children of strangers to make sure that they have food and clothing. So we have two moral claims: Impartiality: When it comes to morality, we should be impartial. Partiality: It is appropriate to treat certain people in a special sort of way. There seems to be some tension between these two thoughts. To avoid it, we must either (1) reject the claim that we must be impartial, or (2) reject the claim that it is OK to be partial to certain people, or (3) come to understand impartiality in a different way. Why We Should Be Impartial Why think that we must be impartial and treat everybody alike? First, there is something intuitively appealing about the thought that morality requires us to be â€Å"as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator.†1 One might even say that the moral point of view just is the impartial point of view. After all, isn’t the point of ethics to step back and try to discover moral principles that apply to everyone? To say that someone acted impartially is often meant to imply that she acted rightly. Another reason to think we must be impartial is that it is arbitrary to act otherwise.2 AskShow MoreRelatedLegal Positivism Over Natural Law Theory982 Words   |  4 Pagesa smaller scale, the strictly legal conception is more appealing because it is broader,† (478). Spaak is arguing, his belief that â€Å"validity-based explanations come nearer to the truth,†(483) rather than belief-based explanations. He concludes that we are to prefer legal positivism over natural law theory. â€Å"That is why in this article I have been concerned with the law itself rather than our views about it.†(483) Spaak actually states that his focus has been exclusively on the law rather than people’sRead MoreMill’S Two Proofs For The Ultimate Norm Of Morality . In907 Words   |  4 PagesMill’s two proofs for the ultimate norm of morality In his argument about the ultimate norm of morality, Mill claims that the utilitarian must claim that happiness happens to be the one and only thing that is desirable in itself. He also claims that the only proof of desirability is desire and goes ahead to give an argument that happiness happens to be the one and only thing that should be desired (Selling, 2016). Most importantly, Mill argues that an individual does desire his own happiness forRead MoreThe Long Standing Debate On Ethics1253 Words   |  6 Pagesaction is good or bad. 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