Analogy to Rule of Law

Our goal in doing ethics is to learn from diverse ethical theories in order to bring our understanding closer to the truth that we cannot fully comprehend, as “all our reasoning extrapolates from limited experience.”37

To address environmental issues we construct moral presumptions to act on, unless the likely consequences of doing so seem sufficiently adverse to justify revising our presumption or setting it aside.

This approach to ethics involves reasoning by analogy to the rule of law. The rule of law is how we agree, as a society, to both disagree and aspire for greater agreement.

The rule of law defines our society as a moral community by affirming ethical presumptions that should apply in creating and enforcing laws. Stated as two moral principles, the rule of law affirms that no one is above the law and everyone is equal before the law.

Ethical rules derived from these two principles are now asserted as human rights by international law, which affirms human rights as necessary social conditions for human dignity.

This means every person is included in the moral community defined by international human rights law. The conduct of governments and individuals often falls short of this high moral standard, but this fact does not make striving to enforce the rule of law any less important. 

The rule of law provides an ethical framework for making public policy. It asserts ethical standards as legal presumptions, but also affirms that changing circumstances and new insights may lead to modifying some of these presumptions. 

The word presumption may only be familiar to most readers in phrases such as “the presumption of innocence” in criminal law, but this same meaning applies to doing ethics. What we take to be right or good is a presumption. 

Reasoning by analogy, in doing ethics we rely on the same kinds of moral arguments that sustain the rule of law. We affirm that our moral community is defined by our moral presumptions and that those who challenge these presumptions bear the burden of explaining why some other action would be better. 

We affirm that: “Ethics underpins law, criticizes it,” and “becomes a guide to what law ought to be.”38 We resist rationalizations and strive to give reasons for doing our duty, acting with exemplary character, respecting and strengthening our relationships, and protecting rights.

constructing presumptions
critical reasoning
faith and reason
environmental ethics 
ethical traditions
feelings
ethical relativism
right and good 
testing presumptions

 37.  Mary Midgley, Animals and Why They Matter, 142.

38.  Andrew Light and Holmes Rolston III, “Introduction: Ethics and Environmental Ethics,” in Andrew Light and Holmes Rolston III, eds., Environmental Ethics, 3.

     Art...

An analogy is a comparison that helps us understand one idea by thinking about it in terms of another. We know more about the rule of law than we do about ethics, so comparing ethics to the rule of law may be helpful.

Art does this with pictures. It tells us about ourselves. Look at this Picasso painting. The person on the right is enclosed, perhaps to remind us that we are alone in our minds. But the two persons are reaching out to each other. And the two shades of color on the face of the person to the left remind us that we are of two minds about what to do and who to be. As an analogy, this painting may mean that we make our best decisions together.

In this single face by Picasso we may see ourselves, as we each ponder what is right. Doing ethics involves recalling what we hold dear as well as opening ourselves to new ideas. We learn by exploring the depths of our feelings, as well as by listening to others.

What do you see in this painting? Can you find here a feeling that helps make sense of the dilemma that you face? In this painting, there is joy and creativity, and both feelings are crucial for ethics.