Moral Anatomy and Moral Reasoning

By Robert V. Hannaford

Book Overview

Choice Outstanding Title

Robert Hannaford's book answers two fundamental questions: How do we come to do what is morally demanded of us--i.e., what compels us into "acceptable acts"? And, how does our being moral emerge from what we are and how we are related to each other?

Hannaford shows that doing (reasoning and acting morally) and being (our "moral anatomy" or essential nature) do not exist in a vacuum but are rooted in community, in our relations with others. Moral reasoning, he argues, focuses on what we ought to do in a situation where we must consider the needs, desires, and expectations of others. "It's about doing," he explains. "We provide food and water for the victims of an urban riot or a nearby natural disaster, and when we are met by a lost child, we try to help it in finding its parents. As responsible people we make] choices that we believe can be shown to be acceptable to others in the community. What is morally correct must reflect the judgment of the moral community."

Rejecting relativists who claim the impossibility of universal moral values, Hannaford develops a theory based on a variation of the Golden Rule. He demonstrates how our natural responsiveness to others' feelings and sufferings, our concern for other persons "conceived as like ourselves" lies at the heart of our moral anatomy and moral reasoning and ultimately guides our moral actions.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0700606076
• ISBN13: 9780700606078
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.1"