Better Minds, Better Morals: A Procedural Guide to Better Judgment

Abstract

Making more moral decisions - an uncontroversial goal, if ever there was one. But how to go about it? In this article, we offer a practical guide on ways to promote good judgment in our personal and professional lives. We will do this not by outlining what the good life consists in or which values we should accept.Rather, we offer a theory of : a set of dimensions of thought that are generally conducive to good moral reasoning. At the end of the day, we all have to decide for ourselves what is good and bad, right and wrong. The best way to ensure we make the right choices is to ensure the procedures we're employing are sound and reliable. We identify four broad categories of judgment to be targeted - cognitive, self-management, motivational and interpersonal. Specific factors within each category are further delineated, with a total of 14 factors to be discussed. For each, we will go through the reasons it generally leads to more morally reliable decision-making, how various thinkers have historically addressed the topic, and the insights of recent research that can offer new ways to promote good reasoning. The result is a wide-ranging survey that contains practical advice on how to make better choices. Finally, we relate this to the project of transhumanism and prudential decision-making. We argue that transhumans will employ better moral procedures like these. We also argue that the same virtues will enable us to take better control of our own lives, enhancing our responsibility and enabling us to lead better lives from the prudential perspective.

Marginalization and Transcendence in Transhumanism and Minjung Theology

“…For Verdoux, many philosophical problems have proven intractable by nature, but he suggests that “there is…a vast panoply of diverse technologies currently being developed that is certain to change the cognitive contours of philosophical scholarship” (Verdoux 2011, 702). If Verdoux's argument has merit—and others have similarly claimed that a posthuman species might be more ethical than present humanity, thereby solving one of our current philosophical troubles (e.g., Schaefer and Savulescu 2017)—then might we not ask how much theology has to gain from transhumanist aspirations? Observably, humanity has trouble executing its higher moral injunctions in consistent and universal fashion.…”

The Influence of Moral Judgment on Physicians' Prescription Behaviour

“…Historically, researchers have addressed this issue for personal and professional behaviour. Ethical behaviour, particularly in professional lives depends on moral reliability which is, being capable of acting on sound moral judgments 58 . Physicians' should care about making good, reliable judgments if they care about doing the right thing.…”