The most sophisticated moral thinkers reach the principled (or postconventional) stage. At this stage, right versus wrong is referenced to a set of defined, established moral principles . Research suggests that fewer than 20 percent of Americans reach this principled stage. Philosophers have identified a number of moral principles that serve as prescriptive guides for making moral judgments, with some of the most influential shown in Table 7-5. Rather than viewing a given principle as the single, best lens for making decisions, it's better to view the principles as a prism for shedding light on a given situation from a number of different angles. The consequentialist principles in Table 7-5 judge the morality of an action according to its goals, aims, or outcomes (these principles are sometimes termed "teleological,” after the Greek word for "goal"). Question 4 in Table 7-4 reflects these sorts of concerns. The nonconsequentialist principles judge the morality of an action solely on its intrinsic desirability (these principles are sometimes termed "deontological," after the Greek word for "duty," or "formalist," due to their emphasis on formalized codes and standards). Viewing question 5 as one of the most important issues in the dilemma would signal nonconsequentialist thinking