Ordinary and Special Morality:
The ethics sheet analogy

Suppose we had to give to each person a sheet listing the moral obligations they have.

A nihilist would say:

No sheets are given out (or only blank sheets); there are no moral norms.
A universalist would say:
Here's one sheet that goes to everyone.
An adherent to the "special rules" view would say:
For each profession, or each "role" there is a separate sheet of rules which goes to those in that profession/role.
Those who believe in both universal rules and special rules (namely those who subscribe to the priority view or the parallel view) would say:
Give each professional two sheets: one sheet of universal rules that goes to everyone in the world; and another that goes to each person in that profession.


Richard Lee, rlee@uark.edu, last modified: 1 June 2006