Moral agency

designation of moral agents in international politics is that of clarity and therefore parsimony. To avoid confusion and establish real responsibility, we should, if possible, locate moral agents of last resort to whom we can point decisively and expect to act. I will argue below that with the help of insights agent-structure theorists in social and international theory, we can meet this requirement by producing a general definition of moral agency. This is then tested against various proposals for agents…

In this paper I will explore the ways in which humans identify moral agency and how it affects their treatment of other beings. I will make the argument that the treatment of others based on one’s interpretation of their moral agency is arbitrary and wrong. To begin I will start with a discussion of what characteristics moral agency are comprised of and what it means to humans, followed by an analysis of how these attributes are manifested in different beings and how it affects their treatment…

II. Kennett, “Autism, Empathy and Moral Agency” Kennett claims that psychopaths are amoral most likely due to their lack of empathy which is also an impairment in individuals with autism. However, it does not seem to be the case that autistic individuals are also amoral. Kennett claims that “an examination of moral thinking in high-functioning autistic people supports a Kantian rather than Humean account of moral agency.” Kennett first looks at how empathy is characterized in psychological…

Moral luck occurs whenever luck makes a moral difference in two or more cases. The problem of moral luck arises from a conflict between the widely held intuition that moral luck should not occur in moral judgment with the fact that it is arguably impossible to prevent it from happening. Before getting into the problem which luck occurs and makes a moral difference, let’s look at a case to test an intuition. Suppose, there is a person A behind me who is tripped by the uneven floor, and the person…

have not reproduced, without acknowledgment, the work of another.  In this essay I will refute the notion that the type of free will worth wanting, or the kind that grants us moral responsibility, is not incumbent upon an ability to do otherwise. To do so, I will first summarize what proponents of this theory, or the Principal of Alternative Possibilities, are convinced of, and why they feel it is true. Then, I will endeavor to prove one of this theory 's main premises, that is, that an…

III. McGeer, “Varieties of Moral Agency: Lessons from Autism (and Psychopathy)” Victoria McGeer responds to Kant and Kennett’s conclusion that “reverence for reason is the core moral motive” and claims that this debate has been too narrowly focused on empathy; we need not try to reduce morality to one cognitive capacity or affective disposition. McGeer focuses on the question of whether our moral capacities are rooted in sentiment or in rationality; do our affective states guide us, or does…

A Case Study on Moral Status Introduction In the field of medicine, ethics and moral status can quickly become a complicated topic. Throughout history, the issue of defining who should receive moral status has continually plagued philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This struggle continues as researchers try to define moral status based on theories such as human and cognitive properties, moral agency, sentience, and relationships (Grand Canyon University, 2016). Which Theory or Theories…

People often do or take parts in acts that are not only morally wrong but also extremely painful to the victim. When someone is order by a higher authority figure they do what was ordered forgetting about their morals and the consequences that it may have. It is important to understand that just because the order was given by a person with a high status or rank it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. In 1963 Stanly Milgram a psychologist at Yale University carried out an experiment where he…

and values. Codes of ethics need to align with agency values. This comes out in the hiring processes, as agencies look for individuals who demonstrate strong characteristics, and values, which align with that agencies core values. Agencies do this to ensure individuals they have representing them, display integrity, professionalism, honesty, and ambition, among a wide variety of others. In pursuing a career in the criminal justice field, it is important to outline a personal mission by creating…

The Problem of Moral Agency in Hamlet In order to be a moral agent, a person has to have a good sense of self, they have to know exactly who they are and how they must act according to the decisions they make. In Hamlet, the moral task at hand is revenge for the murder of Hamlet the elder. The murdered King's son, also of the same name, must be the one to avenge the murder. Before Prince Hamlet finds out the true story behind his father's death, he has his mother's…