(1) The alternatives, especially intuitionism, are far more troublesome.
(2) Still, since his theory does require DDE, an important question is what the alternatives are--whether we must choose between this absolutism and either utilitarianism or intuitionism.
(3) While acknowledging that Beauchamp and Childress's reliance upon Ross's version of intuitionism is problematic, I conclude that the critics of principlism have failed to make a compelling case against its theoretical or practical adequacy as an ethical approach.