Moral Philosophy: Can Reason Alone Distinguish Between Moral Good and Bad.

Moral questions are about what is right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, and about enquiries, concerning the general foundation of Morals; whether they be derived from reason, or from sentiment; whether we attain the knowledge of them by a chain of argument and induction, or by an immediate feeling and finer internal sense; whether, like all sound judgement of truth and falsehood, they should be the same to every rational intelligent being; or whether they be founded entirely on the particular fabric and constitution of the human being. The primary question to consider is, whether it is possible, from reason alone, to distinguish between moral good and evil, or whether there are some other general principles of morality to enable us to make that distinction.  

Virtues are dispositions  that  are concerned with choices that we make and which makes us good. Reasoning is responsibly conducted thinking, in which the one attempts to reach a well-supported answer to a well-defined question.

Early Philosophers like Aristotle contended that virtue is of two kinds. Intellectual and ethical. Intellectual owes its origins and growth to teachings from secular and non-secular sources and needs experience and time. This highlights the importance of institutional authority and social roles in the structure of moral reasoning. Religious teachings and values play the greatest role in this respect.  Ethical virtue comes from habit and do not arise in us by nature, hence not by reason. It is by doing just and honest things that we become just and honest ,by doing brave things that we become brave.  The habits we form from childhood and throughout the duration of our lives are of paramount  importance in this respect. They postulated  that the rules of Morality are therefore not conclusions of reason.

For David Hume, a renowned  contemporary British Philosopher, morality is founded on human nature  i.e. natural feelings and sentiments found within us and not reason. “But in order to pave the way for such a sentiment, and give a proper discernment of its object, it is often necessary, we find, that much reasoning should precede, that nice distinctions be made, just conclusions drawn, distant comparisons formed, complicated relations examined, and general facts fixed and ascertained.” , he wrote.  So it is requisite to employ much reasoning, in order to feel the proper sentiment; and a false relish may frequently be corrected by argument and reflection.  He concluded that reason and sentiment concur in almost all moral determinations and conclusions but morality was not directly derived from reason.

Nature has made universal in human beings an internal sense with which to decide whether characters and actions are amiable or odious, praise-worthy or blameable, honourable or infamous. This inner sense renders morality an active principle and makes virtue our happiness,  vice our misery.  Morality is supposed to influence our passions volitions and actions, and  go beyond our judgments of the understanding.  Experience shows us that men are often governed by their duties, and are deterred from some actions by the opinion of injustice, and compelled to other actions by that of obligation.

Let me conclude by saying  that vice and virtue are not discoverable merely by reason but by means of some impression or sentiment which they occasion within us. It is by this inner sense that we are able to mark the difference between them.  

Nonetheless, contemporary discussions about the content of moral theory will go on and on and will be centered around the following pertinent questions:

1. Is it essential to moral reasoning for the considerations it takes up to be crystallized into, or ranged under, principles?
2. How do we sort out which moral considerations are most relevant?
3. In what ways do motivational elements shape moral reasoning?
4. What is the best way to model the kinds of conflicts among considerations that arise in moral reasoning?
5. Does moral reasoning include learning from experience and changing one's mind?
6. How can we reason, morally, with one another? 
7. How do relevant considerations get taken up in moral reasoning?

Try thinking about these questions and lets have your comments.