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The categorical imperative (deontology) and utilitarianism (teleology) are often envisioned as being on the opposite ends of the spectrum of moral thought. The ideas of W.D. Ross provide different perspectives that many people believe bridge the gap between absolutist and consequentialist views of ethics, offering a pluralistic viewpoint (Figure 2.2). Ross (1930/2002) argued that we often are faced with competing values as we consider ethical questions. He provides moral guidelines that he calls prima facie duties. The term prima facie literally means “on its face” (at first glance) in Latin and refers to the concept that certain duties and obligations come first unless other contingencies or issues come up.

Ross lays out these duties in his book, The Right and the Good (1930/2002):

 Fidelity: the need to keep promises and avoid lying and deception.

 Reparation: the requirement to ameliorate or “fix” actions we may have made that were wrong and injured others.

 Gratitude: the duty to be thankful for others' good acts and to act positively in return.

 Non‐injury and harm‐prevention: the responsibility to avoid hurting other people and to forestall harm where possible.

 Beneficence: the duty to do our best toward others, recognizing that in doing good toward others and holding that there are people in the world “whose condition we can make better in respect of virtue, or of intelligence, or of pleasure.”Figure 2.2 Ross’s seven prima facie duties (pluralism ethics) “At first glance.”Source: © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Self‐improvement: a responsibility to ourselves to foster our own well‐being, health, and safety.

 Justice: the duty to behave in ways that ensure happiness and pleasure are distributed fairly among all people. (Ross, p. 21–22).

One way to understand Ross's ethics theory and the role of contingencies is to consider the analogy of a card game. When you look at a newly dealt hand, at first glance you might think that you will win in a “top card wins” game because you have an ace. However, you might end up losing if another player has a trump card. This can be any card in the deck, but the players have determined beforehand that this card will beat, or trump, any other card, even the ace.

Now consider Ross's ideas on a person's moral duties. Most situations will involve more than one duty. Often, they will conflict, causing you to deliberate which one to follow within a specific situation. While this seems confusing, using personal moral judgment to weigh decisions based on the context of a given situation can be more useful than being bound by clear‐cut rules and answers. Can you think of a situation involving visual communication that you would decide by weighing Ross's seven duties? Consider what content you'd use to cover a fast‐moving news event like a salmonella outbreak, or what images you'd use in a fund‐raising campaign to fight childhood malnutrition.