Unit 2: Postulates of Morality

1. What are Postulates?

In Ethics, postulates are the presuppositions of moral experience. Just as geometry assumes certain axioms to build theorems, Ethics assumes these three conditions to justify the praise or blame of human conduct.

2. Self-Consciousness (Personality)

Morality is only applicable to persons. An agent must be aware that they are the same person today who performed an action yesterday. Without this continuity of "self," responsibility cannot be assigned.

• Animals lack this level of self-reflection and thus are amoral.
• If a person completely loses their identity (e.g., severe amnesia or advanced dementia), their moral agency is diminished.

3. Mental Life (Rationality)

To be a moral agent, one must possess a functioning mind. This allows for:

• Deliberation: The ability to weigh different motives.
• Knowledge of the End: Understanding what the goal of an action is.
• Comparison: Evaluating the "Right" vs. the "Good."

4. Freedom of the Will

This is the most important postulate. It is the capacity of the agent to choose between different courses of action without being forced by external or internal necessity.

There are two types of freedom required for morality:

1. Freedom from Coercion: No external force (like a gun to the head) is compelling the act.
2. Freedom of Choice: The internal ability to choose "A" over "B".

If every action were strictly determined by biology or fate (Determinism), then punishing a criminal would be as illogical as punishing a stone for falling.

5. The "Ought implies Can" Principle

Associated with Immanuel Kant, this principle states that if we say someone ought to do something, it logically implies that they can (have the freedom and power) to do it. We do not demand the impossible.