Write about things you care about. Decide what psychological and philosophical topics matter to you and then read tons of books on that topic. If there is nothing that peeks your interest, think of your life. What ethical dilemmas have you faced in your life?
Ethical dilemmas occur when two or more values come into conflict. For a quick example everyone is familiar with: abortion: yes or no? Don’t answer, but the two values that are in conflict in this question are non-malevolence (the principle of do no harm) and bodily autonomy.
So, think about when two or more values came into conflict in your own life for starters or if you’re really imaginative, create a scenario in which two values clash. For example:
Did someone hurt you in the past and you want to know if you should forgive them or cut them off? (Forgiveness vs. Justice) Did a popular kid ever ask you to help them cheat for a class or maybe to do drugs? (Integrity vs. Hedonism) Maybe you have children of your own and you have wondered how to help them make healthy decisions without pressuring them to be a certain way. (Responsibility vs. Independence) Life is full of these interpersonal questions of morality and how to make the best choices. Ground your story in characters and their relationships to make it feel real.
In philosophy there are two major schools of thought or frameworks: utilitarianism and non-consequentialism (also called deontology). These are basically the methods we use to decide what is right and wrong. Once you’ve decided on an ethical question (i.e. should I choose this or this) and identified what values are coming into conflict, then you can make an argument about which ethical framework you will use to justify the decision. Is the end result the only thing that matters (utilitarianism) or is the way we achieve our goals matter (deontology)?
So let’s practice with the age old question of socialism vs. capitalism. Values coming to conflict when we ask whether we should implement a new social program are often: independence, agency, and self-determinism vs. community, good-will, and interpersonal responsibility.
A deontological philosopher could argue for either socialism or capitalism. Maybe agency is more important than community or the other way around? Deontologists are the people that want to “get to the heart of the issue”, and talk about the “morality” of this or that.
On the flip side a utilitarian philosopher could also support either socialism or capitalism. One who supported social programs could say that socialism maximizes happiness for everyone by spreading wealth. Some people argue the exact opposite by saying socialism just doesn’t work so the end result will always be poverty. This is basically the argument that the invisible hand of the market maximizes GDP.
Utilitarian philosophers are typically more practical than deontologists and in my experience a lot more knowledgeable about a particular topic, because they often can more accurately predict what will happen given a certain circumstance. However, most of us our deontologists at heart. Humans are hardwired to react to ethical dilemmas based on our “gut” not the consequences. Don’t believe me? Look up the Trolly Experiment for reference. Deontology appeals to our emotions and deep sense of right and wrong, so people often revert to that in high stress situations.
This tension between conflicting values and conflicting frameworks are interesting to explore in novels. As I’ve demonstrated, most ethical questions can be analyzed from either a deontology or utilitarianism perspective and result in either endorsement or dismissal of a certain course of action. Many authors will focus on either values or ethical frameworks to create two conflicting characters (protagonist and antagonist), but the best novels mix up values and frameworks to create four or more conflicting viewpoints. Even just having a protagonist and an antagonist who approach a problem differently (not just come to different conclusions or value different things) can be interesting if you feel overwhelmed making large casts of characters.
Anyways, that’s how I think about writing, but that’s probably just because it was the way I was trained in the idk even know how many ethics, philosophy, and theory classes I had to take for my major in college. Hahaha 🤣