Ethics and Morality: Who Cares?
Does any of this really matter?
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Why be concerned with moral theories and distinctions between different types of moral theories? Why bother with some of the difficult questions which are raised in metaethics? Everyone is brought up with some sort of moral system, and it usually works out fairly well - isn't that enough? What's the point of bothering further?
The point is that the "conventional" or "customary" morality which people are brought up with is something those people too rarely think about very carefully. Following a moral system blindly and without reflection is not a method likely to result in a very moral person. Moreover, if this person is suddenly faced with people from a different culture who have a very different moral system, it won't be possible to handle it very well. The most likely results will be extreme dogmatism, deep disillusionment, or even the abandonment of morality entirely.
However, once a person does begin to reflect upon a moral system and look more closely at its premises and inferences, then we are now in the realm of ethics. Indeed, the very process of moral growth requires such reflection and the attempt to find a path between extreme dogmatism and extreme skepticism. Both moral maturity and moral autonomy require that a person can reach moral conclusions on their own - and just as importantly, explain and justify those moral decisions in a reasonable manner.
That is why it is important for people to be able to reason about their moral beliefs and moral positions. Such reasoning requires, first, an understanding about how to reason and use logic, and second, an understanding about how morality and moral systems work. These are the sorts of skills and information which a person needs in order reach a level of moral autonomy sufficient to make them independent and functional.
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