Moral Philosophy & Ethics
Moral Philosophy & Ethics
- Claim type clarity: Distinguish normative claims (“ought”) from descriptive claims (“is”), and from instrumental claims (“if you want X, do Y”).
- Moral framework explicitness: What ethical theory or principles are being used (even if implicitly)?
- Internal coherence: Are principles consistent, non-contradictory, and stable under variation?
- Scope & moral jurisdiction: Who is included, excluded, and why (persons, stakeholders, future generations)?
- Trade-off handling: How conflicts between values are adjudicated (rights vs welfare, fairness vs efficiency).
- Edge cases & stress scenarios: Does reasoning hold under extreme or adversarial conditions?
- Hidden assumptions: Background claims about human nature, agency, responsibility, harm, and fairness.
- Action-guidance quality: Does the ethics provide usable guidance or only critique?
- Proportionality & reasonableness: Are prescriptions realistically actionable without demanding moral heroism?
- Misuse potential: How ethical language can be weaponized (shaming, coercion, selective enforcement).
- Legitimacy of enforcement: If ethics is translated into rules, who enforces and with what safeguards?
- Compatibility with pluralism: How the ethical stance coexists with disagreement in diverse societies/organizations.