Toward a Systematic, Rights-Based Moral Theory

AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL Ubuntu as a moral theory and human rights in South Africa

There are three major reasons why ideas associated with ubuntu are often deemed to be an inappropriate basis for a public morality in today’s South Africa. One is that they are too vague; a second is that they fail to acknowledge the value of individual freedom; and a third is that they fit traditional, small-scale culture more than a modern, industrial society. In this article, I provide a phi...

The Usefulness of a Comprehensive Systematic Moral Theory

In the fall 2009 issue of Teaching Ethics C.E. Harris wrote an article with a question as the title, “Is Moral Theory Useful in Practical Ethics?” which he answered in the affirmative.1 In Harris’ article he considers two moral theories. “For utilitarianism the purpose of morality is to promote human well-being, and moral principles and judgments should be evaluated in terms of their effectiven...

Moral law and human rights.

HE purpose of this paper is to examine some of the basic terms in the discussion of 1 the theme of this symposium on 'Ethics and the practice of medicine'. These terms can be grouped under the headings of moral law and human rights; for if these two terms are defined a great many of the principles, whose application to medical practice is in question, will have been examined. A general paper li...

Moral Phenomenology and Moral Theory

Appeals to moral phenomenology—the phenomenology of moral experience—are common in moral philosophy, particularly in metaethical inquiry. But as far as we can tell, the topic of moral phenomenology has not typically been center stage—a focus of inquiry in ethics. And so, going back at least to the writings of G. E. Moore (and with some notable exceptions— see below), very little has been writte...

Do potential people have moral rights?