[Avodah] moral frameworks

[Joel Rich]

“This moral framework is also a casuistic (case-specific) judgment-based
moral framework. I mean by this the following: Suppose you have adopted a
specific moral theory and are now trying to apply it to a particular case.
When you apply your theory to the particular case, the different moral
appeals may each, taken alone, support different conclusions. There is no
algorithm to decide which of the appeals has priority in a given case. This
is a matter for judgment, and not for mechanical reasoning. Moreover,
slight differences between the facts in two cases may lead to different
judgments, and that is why such judgments are always case specific. As a
result, even adherents of the same moral theory may be led to different
moral conclusions because they make different judgments about priority.
As a result of these factors, the framework I have developed offers a
straightforward account of why we face so much deep intra-and inter-moral
ambiguity. Some moral ambiguities can be resolved by a closer examination
of the facts and/or by closer attention to the relevant moral appeals.
Others cannot, and these are the deep moral ambiguities. They may be due
either to uncertainties about how to understand the relevant moral appeals
or to uncertainties about what judgment of priority should be made.”
R’ A Lichtenstein in The orthodox forum- Toward a renewed ethic of Jewish
philanthropy

I’ve wrestled for a long time with the subjective nature of balancing
competing goods There’s no easy algorithm (e.g lashon hara and tochecha –
when to hold em and when to fold em)

Any insights appreciated

bsorot tovot

joel rich
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