Emotions in Ethical Decision-Making.

Emotions in Ethical Decision-Making.

In recent years, there has been a rise in both philosophical and psychological interest in the concept of emotions' role in making ethical decisions. It is primarily attributable to the fact that people have recently come to the awareness that emotions play the biggest role in ethical decision-making rather than logic and rationale. Emotions are in fact, vital components of moral reasoning. The essay "The Role of Emotion in Ethical Decision Making" by Sidney Callahan describes how emotions and reason should be mutually correcting tools in moral thought. As Callahan puts it, emotions indeed play a critical role in decisions making of any sort. This paper will support Callahan’s view that emotions are tools in ethical decision-making.

Evidence drawn from psychology and evolutionary biology supports Callahan's theory. He contends that human emotions are fundamental to human functioning and have emerged from natural selection throughout human history to secure the survival of both individuals and the species. Emotions serve the purposes of communicating, connecting, and inspiring, in addition to energizing and adapting the individual (Grahek et al., 2019). Without feelings or affects to amplify physiological drives and infuse cognitive processing with subjective meaning, human beings would not care enough to remain alive, much less mate, raise children, develop family relationships, or study art, science, literature, or moral philosophy (Callahan, 1988). Without emotions or affects to amplify physiological drives and infuse cognitive processing with subjective meaning, human beings would not care enough to stay alive.

Callahan contends that humans are born with highly developed emotional and cognitive capabilities capable of interacting with one another (Grahek et al., 2019). Although feelings and thoughts are often intertwined, the subjective intensity, uniqueness, and richness of nonverbal content that characterize emotions set them apart from thoughts. Human beings who are self-...

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