Ethics refer to the moral principles that are held by a person, organization or society and are generally meant to govern their general conduct. Ethics have got no universal standard as the ethical policies change from one person/organization to the other according to their primary objectives. The ethical orientation of a person is an element that develops over time just like the personality element. However, corporate ethics are enforced by the management as there is no law that has been made to regulate the ethical behavior of an organization. Numerous theories have been constructed to explain the issue of ethics and personal conduct in the society (Dreier 57). One of the concepts that stand out is the nihilism theory which addresses the issue of ethics from a very different and distinct point of view. This theory suggests that nothing is moral or immoral and therefore the ethical concept is a very complex issue that is hard to understand. This paper presents an analysis of the nihilism theory and its application in ethics.
Moral nihilism is the view that nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral. If someone states their belief and someone else states their contrasting belief, they are both wrong, and
In other words there are no standards that represent the universally accepted conduct with regards to morals and ethics. For example in the case of abortion which has been highly debated recently, there is no right or wrong belief regarding whether or not a woman should get an abortion (Shafer-Landau, 257). In moral nihilism, there are no moral truths; so even if a person believes that emotionally, physically, and financially she is not ready for a child, it would be wrong for her to get an abortion because we are always mistaken. The Roman Catholic Church believes that abortion is wrong, but under moral nihilism, there are no moral facts so abortion cannot be right or
Is being numinous more satisfying when you don't have moral concepts to add on to that belief?
Finally, in Beckwith’s fourth point, he evaluates the absurd consequences that follow moral relativist’s arguments. In his final critique, Beckwith uses typical philosophical examples that Mother Teresa was morally better than Adolf Hitler, rape is always wrong, and it is wrong to torture babies. Beckwith argues that for anyone to deny these universal claims is seen as absurd, yet it concludes with moral objectivism that there are in fact universally valid moral positions no matter the culture from which those individuals
It is “being what it is not and not being what it is.” (Being and Nothingness 28) Therefore, being for-itself is roughly being nihilistic, because for-itself is nothingness. It is the opposite of being in-itself, which is not self aware and is merely consciousness. The being for-itself is self aware and creates the meaning of the in-itself, but on its own exists as nothingness, because the for-itself cannot exist unless the in-itself also exists. In the simplest terms, it is the intrapersonal dimension of consciousness and
Nihilism is further portrayed in Pulp Fiction through religion because the scientific revolution made man interpret life with a different perspective, one potentially without a divine being. Throughout the movie, Jules preaches a Bible passage to his victims before he murders them without having any idea what it truly means. It is ironic because this passage, Ezekiel 25:17, “refers to a system of values and meaning by which one could lead one’s life and make moral decisions.” However, Jules life does not c...
According to Morrison and Furlong, normative ethics discovers what is right and wrong and guides decision making for all situations in many areas including health care. A normative ethical theory that this research will discuss is virtue ethics in the American health care system. The purpose of this research is to develop potential for excellence and to find the highest good for humans by doing what is right short-term, long-term, and to compete globally (Morrison & Furlong, 2013). Giving certain situations each theory can provide tools to assist in decision-making but virtue ethics concentrates on excellence and perfection.
Moral relativism is the concept that people’s moral judgement can only goes as far a one person’s standpoint in a matter. Also, one person’s view on a particular subject carries no extra weight than another person. What I hope to prove in my thesis statement are inner judgements, moral disagreements, and science are what defend and define moral relativism.
...individual beliefs, one can form their own educated opinions regarding what kind of action he should take. Morals are also not always concrete. Relativist thought contends each group of people may contain different morals. From that opinion, one may assert that morals themselves are not absolute. Still, deontological moral theory provides a strong base for making correct decisions. There are few realistic exceptions to the theory and one can easily notice when an exception is to be made.
Moral realism is the belief that there are moral facts, and ethical judgements are objective statements. This viewpoint means that regardless of where you live or were raised in the world, regardless of what religion you practice or what your beliefs are, morals facts exist. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have moral skepticism. Moral skepticism is the position that there are no moral facts, that morality is purely a matter of opinion, preference, or one 's personal beliefs. This view means that while some people or even a large part of society may agree that certain things are right or wrong, the fact that they agree on an issue does not make that view any more “morally correct” than one person having the opposite view. And finally we have moral relativism, which falls in between moral realism and moral skepticism. Moral relativism is the theory that there are moral facts, but only within the value system of a particular community, culture, or society. That means that while moral facts do exist, morals differ group to
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
According to moral nihilists, whenever we don’t intervene in situations and issues that require our opinion that consists of feelings and emotions, factually, there is no definite right or wrong conclusion to the situation. For an example, we can say that killing an individual is bad or evil. We can say that getting that removing a cat from a tree is good, but when you analyze both situations without feelings, emotions or judgement, the fact that killing someone or removing a cat from a tree isn’t bad or good because there is no definite moral reality to describe the nature of likewise situations. Morality is an
Moral objectivity is the rejection of enthnocentricism, or belief that one’s culture is superior than others. In short, one’s cultural beliefs cannot fundamentally be legitimate morals in the sense that they do not have to follow the “objective” morals. For example, Pojman supports a view stating that morals are universal, that they are "objective" in regard to it being that it doesn 't matter about what a culture defines as moral or immoral, that certain morals are undebatable. Such as for example, torturing children for fun is wrong. This is objectively true no matter what the world says otherwise; another example being that some still think the Earth is flat. In other words, moral objectivism states that "moral standards are true or correct for everybody"2. Thus moral objectivists tend to look at morals as absolutes. Pojman argued that humans are social creatures and that as humans, we did not want to live as "hermits"(first edition, 33), thus certain agreements must be made in order to attain community. Explaining further that agreements are "human nature" and that agreements are at the "core" of morality, as well as stating that to "flourish as a person" we agree to these moral codes in order to maintain harmony and peace. Morals in an evolutionary perspective, allow humans to survive. Such as for example, murder or killing other humans deemed as immoral or wrong. Pojman gives the example of serial murder Ted Bundy, who in his mind believed that killing people was O.K because it made him happy. He believed that killing and raping others is completely fine because those were his morals and what he personally believed in. This disturbs the social harmony and a moral objectivist would beg the question of whether it is right to murder and rape others because one or culture views it as acceptable. Same question can be asked about Hitler, as Pojman did, does it make it acceptable and justifiable that because Hitler and the
"Ethics are personal and, at the same time, a very public display of your attitudes and beliefs. It is because of ethical beliefs that we humans may act differently in different in situations" (University of Phoenix, 2007). Poor ethical choices in the workplace can truly hurt people. Poor ethics can damage their career, happiness, and quality of living. Not only can these actions hurt the individual who has made the bad choices, but also most often it hurts the innocent. This essay will provide two actual case studies; one of positive ethical principles and the other of poor ethical principles.
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ἠθικός ethikos, which is derived from the word ἦθος ethos . The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of Ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with concepts of value.
Morality can be vaguely defined as the extent to which is right or wrong. The word and the concept are hard to define as it means a different thing to people. History has many theories on morality, which only lends validity to the fact that morality is a personal definition of one’s values and concepts of right and wrong. For example, the debate on abortion has been raging for decades with no end in sight any time soon. One of the reasons that this debate is so heated is that some people find abortion to be inherently immoral. They find that taking any life is unjustifiable. Others believe that it is a woman’s choice and that since the other life is dependent upon the living woman, it should be no one’s choice but her own. We all have
Secular ethics are thoughts and ideas based upon what people believe to be moral and right. Those with secular ethical beliefs do not believe that ethics or morality originate from a higher power or from God, but are discovered or invented by humans throughout the ages. Often people with secular make decisions based on his or her “gut instincts.” There are no absolute truths regarding morality within the realm of secular ethics, which leaves the interpretation of morality up to individual people (Ethics-A general Introduction).