Morality as a ‘Subject’

Morality is that area of behaviour basically concerned with making judgements about what one ought to do, about what is right and wrong, good and bad, about duty and obligation. But this is not precise enough. There are cases where what one ought to do may not be a moral matter at all. There are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways of attempting to solve a jig-saw puzzle, and as a chauffeur one’s ‘duties’ include driving a car. Some theorists have gone to the other extreme and have said that moral judgements have no descriptive content at all. The chapter presents an example that of the boy tempted to pocket the penknife which he finds in the school changing room. If he thinks morally about the situation he must come to the conclusion either that he has the right to keep the knife or else that he does not have this right.