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essays on what religion says about the death penalty
aspects of moral relativism
aspects of moral relativism
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“Doing the right thing” is can be based upon a number of different factors. First, there is generally a sense of what is absolute goodness. These are the absolute moral standards by which we should live our lives, given to us either either by a higher power or our cultural environment. In Christianity, for instance, this is expressed in the Ten Commandments absolute ethical laws divined by God, also shared by other major religions. In secular society, it is the rule of law, the consensus of the majority of society on the regulations by which that society should be governed. Balanced against this sense of absolute goodness is relative goodness. Relative goodness is still a moral rightness but dependent on a situation still agreed upon by society. The act of killing another person is a good example. In most situations, killing another is immoral and illegal. However, in acts of war, self defense, and capital punishment it is defended. Finally, there is subjective goodness. In this scenario, rightness is determined by the rationale of the promoter. Abortion doctor killers may believe they are saving future children. Law abiding society sees them as extremists. We are born as individuals, yet part of a larger context be it family, group, tribe, culture, organization, nation, world system or whatever it may be. Although we are usually driven to our own individual self-realization achieving the highest potential for ourselves achievement is usually within a context. Our drive is balanced by the rules under which we must live. We usually can't just do our own thing or we'd be branded a renegade or, even worse, criminal. Our rules for right living are generally taught to us by our influences family, religion, school. ... ... middle of paper ... ...e Boys and Girls Center, an after school program where kids receive help. The help may compensate for a dysfunctional family or environment. It obviously helps society. The cynical may say that the dysfunctional should help themselves, that all we are doing here is breeding dependency, yet we are also building our future. Disadvantaged children can one day when there older think back and remember what others have done for them and they will themselves become a person who helps someone in need. The Youth Center both encourages individual potential and in the long run helps social unity by giving kids and people in need the opportunity to succeed.There is no one answer to what is the " right thing." It is as complex as any social or moral question. Yet in its pursuit, we are educating ourselves on the diversity of goodness and the need for common understanding.
When presented with a statement “There is a difference between what we have the right to do and what is the right thing to do,” it is a variance of what is legally beholden, and the morality of adhering to ethics by taking the correct path. What we have the right to do is interpreted by what is legally authorized by federal, state, or local government laws. The right thing to do is guided by personal conscience that tells the individual the correct thing to do (Mintz & Morris, 2014). It becomes a personal choice.
What does it take to make a human who they are? What influences affect each person in this spinning world of ours? Is it the parents and how much love each applies to raising an individual? Is it the environment to which they are born into? Humans are unpredictable at best, and when someone says they have humans figured out, they are proven wrong. We are creatures of habit who are never the same because of the very influences around us.
I began by tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) and eventually became a teacher at the boys and girls club. The focus of my continued volunteer work was to enrich the children’s after school experience whether they needed help with homework or busy work. During my volunteer work the issue that stuck out in my mid continuously was social class or classism. The BGC emphasizes many different issues and points such as “creating aspirations for the future,” “Helping youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills for participating in the democratic process is the main thrust of these programs and also to develop leadership skills and provide opportunities for planning, decision-making.” BGC encourages kids to engage in healthy and positive behavior as well as to help the youth build and discover creativity in the arts “Club programs help develop fitness, a positive use of leisure time, reduction of stress, appreciation for the environment and social and interpersonal skills.” (bgca.org)
Jeremy Waldron begins with the clarification that if we take moral rights seriously than we must accept the possibility that an individual may do something that is wrong from a moral point of view. I will begin to illustrate what Waldron means by such a right. Before we even look at the meaning of “a right to do wrong”, Waldron clarifies that he is looking at “wrongs” from a moral view not a legal view. “A right to do wrong” means that an action is morally wrong but it is an action that an individual has the moral right to do. It is suggested that an individual should not act in an immoral way but has the choice to do so. Waldron wishes to answer the inconsistencies in the paradox of the moral right to do wrong. One way Waldron says we misunderstand the moral right to do wrong is ...
Each person grows up with parameters that differ from one another, ultimately resulting in the morals and beliefs that do not usually comply with society's “normal”. That being said, the constant pressure from those around us, encouraging to conform and “fit in”, effectively make it so that we do not travel too far off the beaten path and end up in a place that we never intended to be in. On the flip side, individuality and self identity make it so that we still often enjoy taking the road less traveled, which opens the door for creative thought processes and higher-level thinking, a necessity in this vigorously adamant world. With this in mind it is important to recognize that “unless we base our sense of identity upon the truth of who we are, it is impossible to attain true happiness” -Brenda
A person’s actions are right, if their motives behind their actions toward a certain situation have a good intention and they performed appropriate response to certain their situations that life has given to them. For example, a person’s intentions are their motives behind their actions, where as an appropriate action is any response towards any situation which is proper to perform in certain situations that require people to help other people rather than themselves as society deems fit. The following situations are from page 412 of The Philosophical Journey: An interactive approach show about some ethical dilemmas, and the appropriate actions and intentions to figure them out which solution can make an action either right or wrong.
Human beings and what defines us is a complex, never-ending process. We are a combination of our biology and our experiences. I believe that a person is born with a personality that becomes molded overtime due to our experiences and produces who we are as people. Who we are as people is determined by a multitude of interactions and constructs. This idea of personality is nearly impossible to define, as everyone defines personality differently. The construct of personality is hard to define, and many personality theorists continue to debate on its definition. Personality is a difficult construct to define because so many theorists evolved their own distinctive perspective due to a lack in agreement on the nature of humanity. Due to a lack of
Even with all this knowledge it is still impossible to tell what truly is right or wrong. For centuries humans have pondered this and it at times seems we are no closer to the answer than we were the first time it was asked. It is up to each individual person to find the best way they can live and live it. No one is perfect and no two people are alike so the only way we as people can get close to true morality is to just be the best person we can be and hope everyone else decides to do the same. It sounds cheesy, but it really is the only way this world can get close to having true morals and understanding right and wrong.
It is morally permissible to do an illegal act if the action is morally right and good. An action could be morally right and illegal at the same time, when it represents the lesser of two evils, or when the intentions of the person performing it are noble and have for goal to achieve his duty. An action can be morally right, but still illegal because in a situation where there is no good option, the lesser of two evils is the morally best option to do, even if it is illegal (Thomson 39). For example, in Dallas Buyers Club, Ron Woodroof acted rightly by choosing the lesser of two evils: sell illegal drugs to help AIDS patients feel better and live longer, instead of letting them suffer and die (Dallas Buyers Club). If he would have chosen to obey the law, a great number of AIDS patient would have suffered more and died of their illness, and he would have been guilty of not helping them according to the Harming by Omission Thesis (HOT) and the Equivalence of Evil Thesis (EET) (Mieth 17). These thesis affirm that omitting to help someone in need would be as bad as hurting the person directly. Thus, Woodroof acted in a morally permissible way even if he broke the law because he chose the lesser of two evils (Matheny 16). Also, someone can act justly e...
...es that we are all unique in our own way and at some point will realize our potential and try to achieve more not that our genes made us act the way we do.
What makes an act moral? The reality is that there is no right answer. Different experiences and cultures an individual would identify with will naturally dictate the moral reasoning he/she would act upon. However, certain situations can only be regarded as either moral or immoral. This is shown primarily through the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. He argued that acts such as killing or lying are never justified and one must uphold that in order to be a moral individual. When Dr. Kevorkian decided to assist his patients in committing suicide he was ultimately responsible for the murder of 130 patients. Not only did he commit acts that are morally wrong, but also contradicted his oath as a physician. In this incident, there was no exception or
Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.
Nearly all of mankind, at one point or another, spends a lot of time focusing on the question of how one can live a good human life. This question is approached in various ways and a variety of perspectives rise as a result. There are various ways to actually seek the necessary elements of a good human life. Some seek it through the reading of classic, contemporary, theological and philosophical texts while others seek it through experiences and lessons passed down from generations. As a result of this, beliefs on what is morally right and wrong, and if they have some impact on human flourishing, are quite debatable and subjective to ones own perspective. This makes determining morally significant practices or activities actually very difficult.
When asked what is the definition of ethics, many responded that being moral meant doing the right thing. But how can we justify what is a good action and what is a bad action? All humans were created equal, but our principles, and ways of thinking can be extremely different. Some may say doing the right thing means following your heart, your inner feelings and intuition. But emotions can be misleading. Others say in order to do what is the morally right thing means to follow the law and do what is right by society, to be accepted. But today’s society is judgmental and can be corrupted with numerous opinions due to the diversity of cultures. So what does it mean to be ethical? Being ethical means doing what is right in terms of virtues, fairness, duties, responsibilities, obligations, and moral believes all which derived from cultures and family backgrounds.
Two controversial theories that support the moral concept of right and wrong are ethical subjectivism and cultural relativism. As define ethical subjectivism deals with the subjects attitudes and proposition of what is true. In short it’s their feelings about their behavior. When placed in a situation the afterthought of “was that right, I’m glad I do it” or the opposite, “that was wrong, I shouldn’t have done it” is eliminated, as these are not thought but is a reflection upon their thoughts but of their rational behavior and for this reason third parties denunciation is rejected. This makes room for one to argue that they are acting in moral perspective, as it’s clear in black and white as to why the act of stealing the bread was don...