Utilitarianism, Naturalistic Fallacy, and Moral Progress

The Naturalistic Fallacy, Utilitarianism, and Moral Ethics

The naturalistic fallacy, utilitarianism, and moral ethics must guide us at the moment of action. The criteria for morality are defined as follows:

• Reason: You cannot base rules on reason or use it to move the will. Reason, as a collection of innate ideas, cannot contribute anything. Reason moves us, but it only justifies what has already been decided.
• Experience and the Naturalistic Fallacy: Morality is not derived from experience because that invokes the naturalistic fallacy (the transition from "is" to "ought"). Depending on how we describe things as they are (determined by experience), we categorize the action. We cannot derive moral obligation from experience because they belong to two different orders that are infinitely distant in a mathematical sense.
• The Passions: Equivalent to emotional impressions in this field, passions are what move us and associate pleasure with pain. The link between passion, pleasure, and pain is the feeling born of moral sentiment. Approval or rejection may be different for each person according to their individual feelings.

Utility and Social Welfare

To find shared criteria, we use utility. It awakens the feeling that brings us to what is most useful. Utility provides moral approval and depends on both personal and social interest. Feelings cannot be judged; however, actions and their results can be judged based on a valuation of the welfare they generate. This leads to individualism, and to compensate for it, the topic of social utility is introduced: what is important is the welfare of the greatest number.

History and Religion: What Can We Expect?

This question consists of two sub-questions:

What can I expect in this world?

The thinkers of the Enlightenment were the creators of the idea of progress. History shows that there is technological progress; today we live with technologies that did not exist before. There is also legal progress, as laws are becoming closer to morality. However, we have not progressed morally, nor are we regressing; we are morally equal because we are all made of the same components and sensitivity, and because we all face the same temptations.

What can I expect in another world?

No matter how much we strive, morality, rationality, and freedom are not fully accomplished in this world; however, we continue pursuing them. While it may seem absurd, it is reasonable to hope that another world exists where we can fully perform what we aspire to. Religion conveys this hope; therefore, religion is not unreasonable or absurd. To be moral, it is reasonable to think that God exists. This is not the same as the opposite: "God exists, therefore I must be moral." Rather, we must be moral because we distinguish right from wrong and possess hope.