McLaren, "A Strategy for Solving Moral Problems"
Notable because it implements a "good reasons" approach to ethical decision-making
SOURCE FOR THE PROCEDURE
McLaren, Ronald. Solving Moral Problems: A Strategy for Practical Inquiry. Mountain View: Mayfield, 1989.
This approach seems to be based on the "best reasons" approach to ethics advocated
by Stephen Toulmin (1950), Kurt Baier (1958) and more recently by James Rachels (1993).
THE PROCEDURE ITSELF
- Formulate the problem.
- State clearly the question you seek to answer.
- Explain why it is important to answer this question by indicating what is problematic or troublesome.
- Propose a hypothetical solution.
- Survey the available solutions.
- Decide which one seems the most promising and make it your hypothesis.
- Specify what is to be done.
- Specify who is to do it.
- Explain what means and consequences will be involved in accepting the hypothesis.
- Determine what means must be employed and what results will ensue if the hypothesis is accepted.
- Consider whether a significant degree of uncertainty surrounds any of the consequences.
- State every important reason for accepting the hypothesis and those for rejecting it.
- Give the reasons why the course of action called for should be pursued.
- Give the reasons why it should not be pursued.
- Criticize the reasons.
- Examine each factual and evaluative claim made by every reason.
- Determine whether these claims are acceptable or true.
- Reject faultY reasons and keep the strong ones, and explain why.
- Decide by weighing the importance and certainty of the reasons.
- Identify the principle(s) or value(s) upon which each reason is based.
- Decide how important each of these values or principles really is.
- Decide how certain it is that each value or principle will be satisfied if the course of action called for is pursued.
- Determine on which side the greater number of more important values and principles are to be found.
- Choose accordingly, unless the more important ones are less certain to be satisfied.
WALT'S CHECKLIST
The same checklist was applied to all procedures.
- This method is most useful when the DECISION-MAKER ...
- has high initial sensitivity to relevant ethical "features" [step 1]
- is skilled in causal or consequential reasoning [step 3]
- is skilled in dialectical reasoning or debate [steps 4 and 5]
- This method is most useful in a SITUATION ...
- that will change little over time
- This method is most useful when STAKEHOLDERS ...
- share ethical principles [step 6]
- share values [step 6]
