Those familiar with the history of ethical intuitionism know that its critics have found the view unsatisfactory because the intuitionists had almost nothing informative to say about why, in a given situation, a particular moral principle takes precedence, and how we could know that it did (see McNaughton 1996).
In hindsight, it is remarkable that Reid shows little interest in this problem, stating that it is usually clear to a candid mind which moral principles take precedence and what one should do (see EAP V.i; although see Roeser 2010a, 15 16).
Conversely, one could also contend that defending the weak against the oppression of the strong is a moral duty that takes precedence over the right to be left unmolested.
Tobias Jones paints an often comical picture of Italy in 2003, a place where the beauty of the language masks a multitude of ugly realities, where aesthetic considerations often take precedence over moral questions, and where everyone seems to be on the take, from football referees to priests.
This means that moral prescriptions legitimately take precedence over any other normative prescriptions.
This view need not take the strong form of insisting that we must always act as virtuously as possible, or that moral reasons always take precedence.
Because both kinds of errors (normative and technical/judgment) can gravely harm patients, Bosk wondered why controls over moral performance would take precedence over controls of technical performance.
Much more effort is needed to make the work of FSWs safer in Africa, and the public health and human rights imperative to achieve that should take precedence over moral or legal concerns of societies or funders.
And of course anyone infected should always use a condom: we would all, from any moral background, agree that life takes precedence over conception.
