Moral capacity and its dilemmas

Abstract

The book contains an interesting collection of essays focusing on the definition of moral capacity and the problems involved in determining whether a particular individual or a particular category of individuals has moral capacity. The book is divided into three parts. Part one discusses problems with the definition of moral capacity and various challenges to the concept. Part two carries the title ‘‘Professional Morality and Criteria for Health Care Decision’’. Part three discusses categories of individuals whose moral capacity is in question. The book does not systematically discuss q\uestions of moral ontology and epistemology. These questions are, however, implicit in the various conceptualizations and criteria for moral capacity presented in the book. As is to be expected, the various authors in the book take different standpoints with regard to these basic issues. It would have helped the reader if these differences in fundamental starting points had been made more explicit and their implications pursued in more detail. There are two questions that crucially influence the issues under consideration. The first question deals with the moral realism – antirealism debate. Is there anything real in the fabric of the world that serves as the foundation for moral capacity? The second deals with the question of reductionism. Is morality a relatively autonomous aspect of human experience that can serve as the basis for explaining human behavior? Or are moral phenomena to be explained in terms of some other aspect? Reductive explanations of moral phenomena assume that moral phenomena are not ontologically basic but need to be explained in terms of nonmoral data and principles. The nonreductive view of morality assumes that