Final answer:
The inquiry into moral truths involves different approaches, including Hume's sentiment-based morality, Ross's moral pluralism that values competing duties, and the telos-based objective evaluation of actions. Philosophers seek to understand the basis of morality beyond cultural relativism and moral absolutism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Philosophical inquiries into morality involve examining a wide spectrum of theories and arguments about how humans ought to act and why.
David Hume famously argued that moral claims cannot be derived from factual statements because morality is fundamentally about our sentiments, not about objective facts.
This indicates that moral truths are not about what is (factual truths) but about what ought to be, thus they are about how we feel and what we believe.
Moral realism, on the other hand, posits that there are moral facts that can be objectively true, regardless of individual feelings or cultural perspectives.
Sir William David Ross criticized both utilitarianism and deontology for oversimplifying morality and neglecting the complexity of moral experiences.
He suggested that moral theories should recognize the plurality of moral duties and the necessity to balance competing obligations, as real-life situations often involve complex moral decisions where rules may conflict with one another.
Moral pluralism allows for a more nuanced approach where multiple moral duties are weighed against each other.
Furthermore, the conflict between two perfect duties, such as the duty not to lie and the duty to avoid harm, poses a significant ethical dilemma.
In these cases, moral agents must consider competing duties and the consequences of their actions, balancing various moral considerations to resolve the conflict.
Some philosophers also challenge the strict divide between facts and values through the concept of telos, which proposes that actions can be objectively evaluated based on their alignment with certain goals or ends, thereby providing an objective basis for morality.
This approach integrates an understanding of the purpose behind actions with assessments of moral value.
The complete question is: What approaches are involved when assigning moral trues?