The Fundamentals of Ethics

“Ethics is hard. It needn’t be weakness or fuzzy thinking that stands in the way of knowing the right thing to do, or the proper goals to strive for. We are right to be puzzled by the moral complexity we find in our lives. While we might yearn for clarity and simplicity, this wish for easy answers is bound to be repeatedly frustrated.”

Shafer-Landau reminds readers here that the field of moral philosophy does not yield easy answers. Nevertheless, as in disciplines, is it important not to be intimidated and to continue striving for good moral reasoning.

“Especially when so much is at stake—the very quality of our life and our relations with others—it would be terrible to close our minds to new and challenging ideas. Those who have thought so hard about the central questions of existence may well have something to teach us.”

This quote demonstrates the importance of ethical reflection and, by extension, the relevance of the field of ethics. Shafer-Landau cautions readers about falling into the trap of relativism. He reasons that amateurs in the field should remain open-minded about different ethical theories they will encounter, as all of them have been the work of experts.

“There is no widely agreed-on definition of morality. We know that it is centrally concerned with protecting people’s well-being, with fairness, justice, respect for others, virtue, responsibility, rights, liberties, social cooperation, praise, and blame. But the precise nature of such concern is highly disputed, as we’ll soon see.”

This quote illustrates the sheer reach of morality in everyday human affairs and society. It involves all fields in which human action can yield consequences for others.