Ethics Is Not about Feelings

It is sometimes said that ethical conversation is pointless because it all comes down to how people feel about things. This is clearly nonsense. When I want to know about your ethics, I want to know if you will pay me back the money you owe me. I want to know if I can count on you to tell me the truth even if it is unpleasant to do so. I want to know what you will do, not how you will feel when you’re doing it. Your feelings may be an indicator of what you will do but it is what you will do that is really at issue.

%d bloggers like this: