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The Theory of Common Morality of Bernard Gert See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335875979 The Theory of Common Morality of Bernard Gert Article · August 2019 DOI: 10.26512/rbb.v15i1.26866 CITATIONS READS 0 17 3 authors: Flávio Rocha Lima Paranhos Volnei Garrafa Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás (PUC Goiás) University of Brasília 27 PUBLICATIONS 134 CITATIONS 217 PUBLICATIONS 1,059 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Jan Helge Solbakk University of Oslo 79 PUBLICATIONS 633 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Persistents Situation in Bioethics View project Conceptual Basis of Bioethics View project All content following this page was uploaded by Flávio Rocha Lima Paranhos on 25 September 2019. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Artigo Original Paranhos, Garrafa, Solbakk. Rev Bras Bioética 2019;15(e2):1-14 The Theory of Common Morality of Bernard Gert A Teoria da Moralidade Comum de Bernard Gert Resumo: Tom L. Beauchamp e James F. Childress têm lançado mão de forma crescente de uma teoria moral conhecida como “teoria da moralidade comum” como base filosófica para a sua abordagem de quatro princípios para a ética biomédica, atualmente conhecida como principialismo. Na última edição (2013) de seus Principles of Biomedical Ethics, os autores reconhecem a contribuição de alguns teóricos anteriores da moralidade comum. Bernard Gert, um crítico do principialismo, é um deles. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma análise crítica da teoria da moralidade comum de Gert, desenvolvida em seu livro Common Morality. Deciding Flávio R. L. Paranhos What to Do (2004). de acordo com Gert, a moralidade comum é um sistema Escola de Ciências Médicas, moral que todos usam implicitamente ao tomar decisões e julgamentos. Farmacêuticas e Biomédicas da PUC Tal sistema consistiria, basicamente, de regras morais, ideais morais e um Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil procedimento de duas etapas usado intuitivamente por cada pessoa para [email protected] decidir se uma determinada violação de uma regra ou ideal é legítimo. Há dez regras morais, que podem ser agrupadas em duas básicas, a saber, não causar danos (não matar; não cause dor; não desabilite; não privar Volnei Garrafa a liberdade; não privar de prazer), e não violar a confiança (não enganar; Centro Internacional de Bioética manter suas promessas; não trapaciar; obedecer à lei; fazer o seu dever). e Humanidades / Cátedra Unesco As regras morais se aplicam aos agentes morais, que são constituídos de Bioética / Programa de Pós- por todos os seres humanos capazes de compreender plenamente as regras morais, bem como prever as consequências de sua eventual Graduação em Bioética da UnB, violação. Apesar do apelo intuitivo da abordagem de Gert, bem como Brasília, DF, Brasil de Beauchamp e Childress, a teoria da moralidade comum tem algumas [email protected] falhas fundamentais que são discutidos no artigo. Keywords: bioética, fundamentação filosófica, teoria moral, moralidade comum, regras morais, principialismo, Bernard Gert. Jan Helge Solbakk Center for Medical Ethics, Institute of Abstract: Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress have been increasingly using a moral theory known as “Theory of Common Morality” Health and Society, University of Oslo, as a philosophical basis for their four principle approach to biomedical Oslo, Norway ethics, currently known as principlism. In the latest edition (2013) of their [email protected] Principles of Biomedical Ethics, they acknowledge the contribution of some previous theorists of common morality. Bernard Gert, a critic of principlism, is one of them. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of Gert’s Theory of Common Morality, as developed in his book Common Morality. Deciding What to Do (2004). According to Gert, common morality is a moral system that everyone uses implicitly when making decisions and judgments. This system consists, basically, of moral rules, moral ideals and a two-step procedure used intuitively by every person to decide whether a given violation of a rule or ideal is legitimate. There are ten moral rules, which can be collapsed into two basic ones, Do not cause harm (Do not kill; Do not cause pain; Do not disable; Do not deprive of freedom; Do not deprive of pleasure), and Do not violate the trust (Do not deceive; Keep your promises; Do not cheat; Obey the law; Do your duty). Moral rules apply to moral agents, which are constituted by all humans able to fully understand the moral rules, as well as predict the consequences of their eventual violation. It is our understanding that, despite the highly intuitive appeal of Gert’s approach, as well as of Beauchamp and Childress’s, the Theory of Common Morality has some fundamental flaws which are discussed in the article. Keywords: bioethics, philosophical grounding, moral theory, common morality, moral rules, principlism, Bernard Gert. Artigo Original Paranhos, Garrafa, Solbakk. Rev Bras Bioética 2019;15(e2):1-14 Introduction Since the fourth edition of the Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Beauchamp and Childress have been using, increasingly, a moral theory known as “Theory of Common Morality” (TCM) as a basis for a defense and theoretical underpinning of principlism. In the 7th and latest edition of their book (2013), the authors devote several chapters to the justification of their four principle approach to biomedical ethics. The first and last chapters are particularly devoted to the presentation and development of TCM. In the first chapter of this latest edition the authors recognize that they are not the only ones to avail themselves of such a theory. In a note, they acknowledge that “although there is only one common universal morality, there is more than one theory of common morality” (Beauchamp and Childress 2013, p.25-26).Among the authors cited, one is particularly interesting - Bernard Gert, since he was critic of principlism. In the last chapter of the same edition, Beauchamp and Childress (2013, p.393- 397) try to elaborate their TCM, when, again, they cite (this time more thoroughly) the ideas of Gert. It is noteworthy, however, that the authors do not disagree fundamen- tally with the ideas proposed by Gert about TCM, but only with his criticism of their principlism (Beauchamp and Childress 2013, p.394): Like us, they understand the common morality as universal morality that is not on the cultures, individuals, religions or professional associ- ations. However, Gert and colleagues reject both the language and the substance of our account of principles, while putting forward their own impartial rules and moral ideals as a superior and alternative frame- work in biomedical ethics. Later on, the authors turn to the TCM of Gert again, this time to agree with him to the extent that they consider there is no reason why the standards of common morality cannot be justified by a general ethical theory, even though Gert himself has not been able to do this conclusively (Beauchamp and Childress 2013, p.419). Although Beauchamp & Childress demonstrate a growing interest in developing a moral theory that might provide an appropriate epistemological foundation for their approach, they fall short of the achievements of Gert. The aim of this paper is to pro- vide a critical analysis of Gert’s Theory of Common Morality (TCM), as developed in his book Common Morality. Deciding What to Do (2004). 2 Artigo Original Paranhos, Garrafa, Solbakk. Rev Bras Bioética 2019;15(e2):1-14 On the term “common morality” The expression “common morality” may appear with different meanings depend- ing on the chosen approach of different authors, as well as their original intention in using the term. In his book, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, whose first edition was published in 1780, Jeremy Bentham, one of the founding fa- thers of utilitarianism, presents his proposal of a “principle of utility”, which, according to the author, is nothing more than the principle which approves or disapproves of ev- ery action that seems to increase or decrease the happiness of those whose interest is in question (Bentham 2007, p.2). Bentham, then, discusses the principles contrary to the principle of utility. These are basically of two types: asceticism and sympathy/antipathy. While the principle of utility, which Bentham considers an objective one, since it uses a criterion external to the moral agent, the principle of sympathy/antipathy is subjective since it rests only in the disposition to approve or disapprove something (Bentham 2007, p.13-17). In a footnote to paragraph XIV, concerning the principle of sympathy/antipathy, Bentham refers to the “moral sense” and “common sense”. His description of what is “common sense” has some striking similarities with that of Gert’s, although the latter has solemnly ignored this line of Bentham’s thought (Gert cites Bentham four times, but none of them makes reference to his idea of the morality of common sense): He then tells you, that his common sense teaches him what is right and wrong (...), meaning, by common sense, a sense of some kind or other, which, he says, is possessed by all mankind. (...) But common sense is as old as the creation; and there is no man but would be ashamed to be thought not to have as much of it as his neighbors. (...) Another comes, and says, that (...) however he has an understanding, which will do quite as well. This understanding, he says, is the stan- dard of right and wrong. (...) If other men’s understandings differ in any point from his, so much the worse for them: it is a sure sign they are either defective or corrupt (Bentham 2007, p.17). In characterizing the principle of sympathy/antipathy (which he refutes), Bentham provides us with a characterization similar to that of Gert’s to common morality, but he does not use the expression “common morality”.
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