I find it impossible to engage thoughtfully with philosophical questions about morality because I remain unconvinced of the soundness of the first principles that are applied in moral judgments. I am not interested in a moral claim that does not have a basis in some fundamental idea with demonstrable validity. I will try to contain my critique to those claims that do attempt at least what I think to be this basic level of intellectual rigor.
Note 1: I recognize that I introduced many terms in the above statement that are open to challenge as loaded and biased. I hope this will not distract from my real concern, as stated below.
Note 2: I recognize that I am likely ignorant of the thought of philosophers who have dug into this question. If you can present to me any of these ideas, if they respond clearly and directly to my objections, please do.
I find moral problems intractable and even ridiculous because I have not managed to find foundations for moral judgment through my own inquiry and those foundations proposed by others have all proven specious, at least in my judgment. Examples of the latter include religious ethical systems that claim basis in the mind of a deity, ethical systems based on an individual’s emotional response to X scenario, and pragmatic claims, such as X is moral because it is useful. I admit that the latter is the argument that comes nearest to intriguing me.
Overall, I am frustrated with the a priori assumption that morality must exist (an assumption seemingly based on the fact that the word exists), so let us set out to FIND it. Perhaps it should be found first, and assumptions can come later. Until it is, I have to be neutral and frustrated.
I have not yet had a conversation in which my interlocutor, while making moral claims, could provide convincing definitions of fundamental principies, including justice, duty, the good, vice, etc., though the speaker will have readily made use of these terms. It is not helpful that the population of individuals in society who have attempted to understand and establish such principles on their own, and done so carefully and analytically, is near zero.
As for scenarios resembling the Torture vs. Dust Specks problem: My response is to reject the premise. No, I do not need to make that choice! Morality, at least as that word seems to be applied in non-academic fashion (meaning in daily use), has nothing to do with such abstraction. Moral choices involve actual theft, actual death, actual starvation, actual inequality, etc. etc. The Torture vs. Dust Specks choice is one that no one will ever need to make, so while it might be an intriguing question, I think it avoids the actual subject of morality, or what you might want to call “applied morality”. I feel the same about psychological studies that ask questions about pushing people in front of trains. This is a field built only of theory with no area that actually touches human experience.
Speaking as an undergraduate student in a computer science department, I can confirm your observation. I have also observed that while coding, the philosophical pumps start working and good—or at least interesting—ideas about other subjects are often produced. The most interesting off-topic conversations I have had with other students in any class have been had in computer science classes.
I have also noticed that my ability to deal with mathematical problems that are generally algorithmic mentally has been improving rapidly. I suspect the regular practice of holding a process in one’s mind while encoding it is related to this.