“All decisions are ethical decisions.” Comment on this statement, particularly by referring to the concepts of moral intensity and moral sensitivity.

This sweeping statement is false. In other words, not all decisions are having equal right/wrong or good/bad dimensions. We are saying there is a threshold which defines ethical concern, and it is a function of moral intensity and moral sensitivity.

For a decision to have an ethical dimension, it has to have some moral intensity associated with it. Moral intensity is a characteristic of the situation. It refers to the degree to which an issue demands the application of ethical principles. “Who should be laid off?” would have high moral intensity. On the other hand, a decision to take an umbrella to work because it might rain has no moral intensity. This is because morally intense issues involve others in the society who may think the decision is good or evil, or the issue quickly affects people.

Moral sensitivity refers to a characteristic of the decision maker, not the situation. Faced with the same issue, two decision makers may be more or less moral sensitive, depending on empathy, expertise, experience and mindfulness. This means that people differ in their ability to recognize the presence and determine the relative importance of an ethical issue.

Moral intensity and moral sensitivity are different, but they go hand-in-hand. An issue with high moral intensity might be decided without the required ethical consideration because the decision maker doesn’t recognize its ethical importance (i.e., the person has low moral sensitivity). Thus, both concepts are important factors in the extent to which we apply ethical principles to issues.

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