An Inquiry into The Nature of Moral Principles

This book purports to highlight the basic features of moral principle through a conceptual analysis. It argues on the logical ground that the main defect from which classical and modern accounts of moral principle suffer is that they stress some features of moral principle suffer is that they stress some features of moral principle and ignore the others which make their account inadequate. This book provides an adequate and comprehensive account of moral principle which enables readers to identify moral principle as distinct from the other kinds of principle such as social, legal and religious. Although it does not make any attempt to formulate any particular moral principle but the features that emerge from the logical analysis provide basis for the formulation of any particular moral principle and enable to understand the relation of moral principle to moral concepts, moral principle to moral concepts, moral judgements, moral decisions and moral rules. It establishes this point that moral principles are covertly universal and person-nuetral. They guide our choices in relevant circumstances. They are self-imposed and self-administered principles. They always prevail over other kinds of principle on the balance of reasons in conflicting circumstances. Moral principles preserve goodness of all he people concerned. They cannot be justified in derivative sense. They can be justified only in terms of those features which make a principle as moral. This distinction between moral rule and moral principle is only a matter of degree and not of a kind.