Ethical Particularism and Patterns

Abstract

Information couched in descriptive terms plays a major role in determining our moral judgements. Perhaps we learn that an action involves breaking a promise and respond by forming the view that it is wrong. Later we learn that it was necessary to break the promise in order to save a life, and retract our earlier judgement and decide that the action was right. Later still we learn that, although a life was saved, many more were lost as result of the promise00ADbreaking and we return to our original judgement. Here we have a simple example of the role of descriptive information in leading us to a moral judgement, and of how our judgement may change as more descriptive information comes to hand.