Analysis Of Nigel Warburton's Approach To Morality
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Nigel Warburton, the author of A Little History of the World, was born in 1962. Warburton attended the University of Bristol where he received his BA, along with a PhD from Darwin College, Cambridge. During Warburton’s career, he was a Lecturer in Philosophy at Nottingham University and a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Open University. He regularly teaches courses about the Philosophy of Art at Tate Modern, and presents programs for BBC Radio 4. Warburton also runs a Philosophy weblog called Virtual Philosopher, and podcasts interviews with David Edmonds at Philosophy Bites (over 19 million downloads). Warburton’s literary works include Philosophy: The Basics (4th ed.), Philosophy: The Classics (4th ed.), and Thinking from A to Z
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One approach to morality is considering the consequences of an action. Singer believes that moral decisions rely on the best result, which may be agreed upon after taking all interests into account. “It is a matter of logic that if what is wrong with harming human beings is that it causes pain, then other animal’s pain should affect how we behave too” (244). His approach is based on the idea of consistency, which treats similar cases in a similar manner. Kant on the other hand has a very different approach to morality. Kant believed that morality shouldn’t be based upon what you do, but why. Kant’s perspective is that moral decisions should be made because of your duty (the role you play in society) and not emotions, no matter the consequence. His ideas completely oppose Aristotle, Singer, and Bentham’s ideas. The final perspective on morality is that the right action is the one that will produce the most happiness. Bentham, a utilitarian, believed that “If, on balance, greater happiness results from telling a lie than not, then that is the morally right action in those circumstances” (124). Both Bentham and Singer’s thoughts on morality depended on the consequences, while Kant counted on the reason why. Conclusively, morality is a main theme in the text as a result of the multiple controversial thoughts on moral …show more content…
This question requires the reader to think about their current opinion on the topic, in which they may look back to after reading the chapter, thus keeping the reader engaged. Next, a short biography on the philosopher is provided so that the background is established. Following the biography, Warburton sometimes provides a connection with another philosopher, whether the two philosophers ideas are similar or contrary. This simple association allows the reader to create connections between philosophers’ ideas that Warburton considers important. Shortly after, he introduces the philosopher’s approach and perspective. Warburton ends each chapter with a short link to the next through contrast ideas. This very short snippet of contrary information makes the reader question what they just learnt, and hooks them onto learning about a whole new philosophy in the next
One approach to morality is considering the consequences of an action. Singer believes that moral decisions rely on the best result, which may be agreed upon after taking all interests into account. “It is a matter of logic that if what is wrong with harming human beings is that it causes pain, then other animal’s pain should affect how we behave too” (244). His approach is based on the idea of consistency, which treats similar cases in a similar manner. Kant on the other hand has a very different approach to morality. Kant believed that morality shouldn’t be based upon what you do, but why. Kant’s perspective is that moral decisions should be made because of your duty (the role you play in society) and not emotions, no matter the consequence. His ideas completely oppose Aristotle, Singer, and Bentham’s ideas. The final perspective on morality is that the right action is the one that will produce the most happiness. Bentham, a utilitarian, believed that “If, on balance, greater happiness results from telling a lie than not, then that is the morally right action in those circumstances” (124). Both Bentham and Singer’s thoughts on morality depended on the consequences, while Kant counted on the reason why. Conclusively, morality is a main theme in the text as a result of the multiple controversial thoughts on moral …show more content…
This question requires the reader to think about their current opinion on the topic, in which they may look back to after reading the chapter, thus keeping the reader engaged. Next, a short biography on the philosopher is provided so that the background is established. Following the biography, Warburton sometimes provides a connection with another philosopher, whether the two philosophers ideas are similar or contrary. This simple association allows the reader to create connections between philosophers’ ideas that Warburton considers important. Shortly after, he introduces the philosopher’s approach and perspective. Warburton ends each chapter with a short link to the next through contrast ideas. This very short snippet of contrary information makes the reader question what they just learnt, and hooks them onto learning about a whole new philosophy in the next