Abstract

The relationship between applied ethics and moral theory is not merely one in which the former benefits from the latter, rather it is one that is mutually beneficial. But before either can benefit, the moral theory must be sufficiently developed and precise that there are few if any disagreements on how it applies to particular cases. In this paper, I shall present a summary of the theory I have developed in The Moral Rules and then try to show how attempting to apply it to particular cases not only helps one to get clearer about the cases, but also enables one to improve the theory. In particular I shall show how attempting to apply the same theory to different fields and to different kinds of cases forces one to recognize that there is a wider array of morally relevant features than at first seems to be the case.