Ethical Problem-Solving: Universal Moral Principles

Fundamental Values and Societal Harmony

• The value of life
• Duties to the community
• Power and its exercise
• The citizen and the weak
• The afterlife, death, and gods
• Ways of resolving conflicts
• Property, its ownership, and distribution
• Sexuality, procreation, and family
• Dealing with foreigners and differences

Assessing solutions: Human beings need to know the best solutions, which better respect the fundamental values of humanity and can provide a more just social reality.

• Morality: It is the system of rules governing coexistence in a society. There are many moral and cultural systems.
• Ethics: It is the part of philosophy that reflects on these issues and tries to rationally develop a universal morality, valid for all cultures.

The Search for Optimal Solutions

The moral progress of humanity is due to intelligence sharing: the interaction of many minds seeking solutions to problems.

Criteria to find the solutions are:

• The compatibility of values and rules
• The defense of a righteous lifestyle, desirable for anyone
• The nature of the solution, universalized in practice
• Determining whether the effects produced by the solution are beneficial

The Importance of Religions

• Religions respond to deep human concerns.
• All religions have made their contribution to the moral wealth of mankind.
• Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are the most prevalent by number of believers.
• All moral elements contribute to the construction of a universal ethic.

The Voice of the Victims and Social Movements

• The demand for justice by victims who suffer injustice is a force that creates ethics.
• Assertive social movements are remarkable for seeking to draw attention to values and rights that are not recognized and are pressing for recognition.
• A case in point is the struggle against racial discrimination. In the twentieth century, it was particularly important in South Africa (against apartheid) and in the U.S. (civil rights for Black people).