> You see a little girl running toward a minefield, you jump and save her, there is no reasoning.
You see a little girl standing on top of a tall building, a crowd gathered below. You grow frustrated, tension rises. You start chanting "Jump! Jump!" and watch the girl throw herself to her death. There's no reasoning. [1]
I don't think anecdotes like that prove much. Human nature has us do things without thinking, for better and sometimes for worse. I don't think these moments of impulse necessarily embody any higher principle, or stand "above" rationality.
Having moral principles that stand "above" the law is fine: those will let you decide in favour of what's moral instead of what's legal. But that's still reasoning.
[1] This is surprisingly common when people jump from buildings.
> You see a little girl running toward a minefield, you jump and save her, there is no reasoning.
You see a little girl standing on top of a tall building, a crowd gathered below. You grow frustrated, tension rises. You start chanting "Jump! Jump!" and watch the girl throw herself to her death. There's no reasoning. [1]
I don't think anecdotes like that prove much. Human nature has us do things without thinking, for better and sometimes for worse. I don't think these moments of impulse necessarily embody any higher principle, or stand "above" rationality.
Having moral principles that stand "above" the law is fine: those will let you decide in favour of what's moral instead of what's legal. But that's still reasoning.
[1] This is surprisingly common when people jump from buildings.