Common sense and the common morality in theory and practice

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Moral Philosophy
• Philosophy of Social Science

Background:

• Beauchamp and Childress's influential account of common morality remains unfinished after 34 years and seven editions.
• Their reliance on classical liberal tradition and appeal to consensus for justification present limitations.
• Existing ethical theories lack a robust method for moving beyond hypothetical justification and resolving value conflicts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Bernard Lonergan's philosophy as a methodological solution to the limitations in Beauchamp and Childress's common morality.
• To analyze the structural relation between reason and experience in human action within ethical theory.
• To explore the role of theory in practice, addressing 'common sense' and 'general bias' as conceptualized by Lonergan.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of Beauchamp and Childress's defense of common morality.
• Examination of the tension between reason and experience in classical liberal theory and its relation to Beauchamp and Childress's arguments.
• Application of Lonergan's generalized empirical method to address identified issues in ethical justification and practical application.

Main Results:

• Beauchamp and Childress's approach to common morality exhibits limitations in providing a definitive method for justification and conflict resolution.
• A persistent tension between reason and experience in their work mirrors issues within classical liberal theory.
• Lonergan's generalized empirical method offers a framework to overcome these limitations by clarifying the structure of human action and the role of theory.

Conclusions:

• Bernard Lonergan's generalized empirical method provides a significant advancement for ethical theory and practice.
• This approach offers a more robust foundation for moral justification and resolving value conflicts than current methods.
• Addressing 'common sense' and 'general bias' through Lonergan's framework enhances the practical application of ethical theory.