What is the basic aim of contractualist ethics?

What is the basic aim of contractualist ethics?

• A. To maximize happiness for the greatest number.
• B. To explain or justify our actions to others.
• C. The focus of ethics is being able to explain or justify our actions to one another.
• D. To follow universal moral laws.

Answer: (C)

Contractualist ethics centers on the idea that morality is about the reasons we owe to others; an action is morally right if we could justify it to others who are affected, under fair, impartial conditions. The basic aim, then, is to have ethics framed as a system of explanations and justifications that others can accept in virtue of being reasonable equals. This makes morality about the mutual accountability of agents and the ability to give good, shareable reasons for our actions. That’s why the option describing ethics as being able to explain or justify our actions to one another best captures the aim: it highlights the reason-giving nature of contractualist thinking and the requirement that our actions stand up to rational scrutiny by others. The other ideas describe different moral theories—maximizing happiness (utilitarianism) or following universal laws (Kantian duty)—which are not at the heart of contractualist reasoning.

Contractualist ethics centers on the idea that morality is about the reasons we owe to others; an action is morally right if we could justify it to others who are affected, under fair, impartial conditions. The basic aim, then, is to have ethics framed as a system of explanations and justifications that others can accept in virtue of being reasonable equals. This makes morality about the mutual accountability of agents and the ability to give good, shareable reasons for our actions.

That’s why the option describing ethics as being able to explain or justify our actions to one another best captures the aim: it highlights the reason-giving nature of contractualist thinking and the requirement that our actions stand up to rational scrutiny by others. The other ideas describe different moral theories—maximizing happiness (utilitarianism) or following universal laws (Kantian duty)—which are not at the heart of contractualist reasoning.