The significance of understanding the features of moral judgements

Abstract

This paper is an elucidation of the importance of moral judgments in our conceptions of morality. It notes that no moral judgment can be made unless there is a pre-supposition of some moral standards, rules or principles of conduct. The paper argues that contrary to very popular views, moral judgments are not mainly concerns of meta-ethics, but equally issues in normative-ethical discourse; since discussions in one usually spill-into the other. The (sometimes) mistaken, ambiguous and unsatisfactory judgments of normative-ethics would require clarification (by meta-ethics) of the terms used in such normative judgments. The paper discusses four major features of moral judgments - Objectivity, Universality, Practicality and Autonomy – and argues that these features are the best defense of morality against the pervading pressure of radical relativism.