...society, the question of morality has always been hotly debated. Many famous philosophers of iconic lands, such as Socrates, Voltaire, Confucius, and Swami Vivekananda have written and spoken volumes on the meaning of morality and its impact on human society. Their actions and judgments have helped society, such as Socrates impact on Ancient Greece or Vivekananda’s impact on Medieval Indian Society. Because of their actions, the debate of morality has helped us learn from the mistakes of previous generation and societies, and help us build our society today. Clearly, morality is very important to humans. But why is morality so important to us? Perhaps, one reason why morality is so important is because it discriminates between actions that are seemingly “right”, and actions that are seemingly “wrong”. Not only that, but it also helps us handle a dilemma in the best way possible in order to avoid a potentially disastrous situation. For instance, many people consider a “wrong” action to be immoral. One example of action always considered immoral is lying. In general, many people consider lying, the act of not telling the truth or providing incomplete information, to be immoral. But is it always immoral to lie? Can there be situations where lying can be a moral action to take? At first, I didn’t think so. But after a semester of reading books such as Everything Matters, The White Tiger and Someone Knows My Name along with researching articles on lying and its implications on...
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...that a whole community conforms to. Philosophers have developed many theories regarding the reasoning behind the most common moralities, some as far back as Aristotle and others more recent, such as Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. The three most common theories of morality are best exemplified by these three men; Aristotelian moral theory, Kantian ethics and Mill’s utilitarianism. While these theories hold much in common regarding how they see morality, they differ greatly in their reasoning for why they think that way. Aristotelian virtue ethics focus more on the person as a moral creature at heart and their desire for morality to be the driving force behind moral behavior. An excellent example of the difference in the three theories in this instance would be a situation involving lying. Dishonesty is considered morally wrong by most theories of ethics, but all of the moral theories approach it differently. Deontology, as espoused by Immanuel Kant, would argue against the morality of lying from a moral absolutism standpoint. Lying is wrong no matter what, and any good that comes from it is discounted by the evil of lying. Utilitarianism, as espoused by John Stuart Mill, would consider lying to be acceptable as long as a greater good for society at large to come from it. A virtue ethicist such as Aristotle would look less at the act of lying but more at the decision to tell a lie and what that says about the person in question as a moral being. A person that lies...
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...Relativism is a view that what is right or wrong in some circumstances, people who believe in cultural relativism believe that morality is like a law. (Ethics book page 183). A human does not always agree what is “Right and wrong”. Has no one the authority to answer this question of right and wrong? That question was here at the very beginning of human history. As stated in the Bible in Genesis, God designated a tree that was growing in the Garden of Eden as “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:10-9).Some people growing up in a situation where cheating is good, for some people cheating is bad. Right, and wrong exist as opposite; it only exists in people mind. (Boghossian, Paul, “The Maze of Moral Relativism,” New York Times...
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...Lying is an issue many people in society are faced with. As society as a whole we are a mixture of Kantians, virtuous, and utilitarian’s. All three ethic philosophies have a different way to interpret whether or not any type of lying is okay. The scenario in this case is whether or not to tell a friend a small white lie to save their feelings. It seems that the solution to our problems is determining what the right thing to do is. One perspective, with deontology is philosopher Immanuel Kant, who said that lying was always morally wrong. He said all people are born with an "intrinsic worth,” also called human dignity. This dignity derives from the fact that humans are capable of freely making their own decisions and guiding their conscience...
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...usually bring immediate happiness or gratification, but might not benefit the person in the long run. On the other hand, doing what one must do may cause immediate discomfort or unhappiness, even if it is good for the person. This is the underlying message of Kantianism which is the purpose of morality is not to make you happy and the whole purpose of morality is to do the right thing just for the sake of doing it without any rewards. Kant also used the terms "will" and "motivation" interchangeably. Will means that we have the ability to choose good, based on reason. I like Kant's theory because Kant believes that if an action had moral intentions, it is therefore morally relevant no matter what the consequences are. This theory states that consequences of an action do not matter and have no moral relevance, thus only intentions are morally relevant (Class Notes)..The will, led by reason, forms two imperatives. Imperatives are basically the "should" in your life. Hypothetical imperatives are dependent upon the context of the situation. They are relative and contingent. Hypothetical imperatives are formed to bring about a certain result or consequence, and have nothing to do with morality. "Since we are not in complete control of the consequences of our actions, we should not be praised or blamed for them." Furthermore the second part of imperative is the categorical imperative. Categorical imperatives do not dependent on the context of a situation they are universal and can be...
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...is” and morality can then be determined “by the possession and exercise of such virtues.” (Murdoch, 1971). John ignores the needs and happiness for others, selfishly concerned only for himself. Filled with vice, his acts result in moral wrongness. He does not exercise virtues, because he still does not possess a virtuous character when he performs his corrupt actions, selling overpriced products to innocent people. As a result of his self-driven impulses, John would not be classified as virtuous or moral at...
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...The act of lying (Ashken, Yefery, Leslie, Martha, and Randy) When asked about whether or not the act of lying is considered to be acceptable in some cases and the need to always tell the truth is the right thing to do, all sorts of arguments will appear and will create an attention-grabbing combination or exchange of different ideas and perceptions about what is right or wrong. This discussion of ideas if done in an organized way will provide an audience with an increased understanding of different and intricate issues and will help to identify which arguments are better and well-supported than others. This formal discussion of ideas took place few days ago in our Critical Thinking class. The topic was “a young brother is always telling lies. What is your response? Is it necessary to tell the truth always?” On one side were my classmates Ashken, Yefery, and Randy who believe lying is alright as long as its outcomes are positive and beneficial. On the other hand, there were Martha and Leslie who believe lying is unconstructive and can become very a negative habit. Both sides seemed to believe in what they were saying and looked convincing and well-informed, however when discussing complex topics such as the morality of lying or the justification for it, subjective arguments tend to prevail over objectives ones. For instance, Ahsken presented a good persuasive argument full of examples and questions that made us think about the benefits of lying. However...
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...Max Carey Ethics Paper 2 December 2, 2011 The Argument for Consequentialism Consequentialism and Imannuel Kant’s Theory of Moral Value provide a good framework for deciding what right actions are and specifically what actions are deemed intrinsically valuable. Consequentialism is going to emphasize that actions maximizing intrinsic value for all people affected by a situation are morally right while Kant is going to stress that only the motive behind an action determines whether an action is right, regardless of the consequences. Although consequentialism attributes the rightness of an action only on a consequence, consequentialist theories are more comprehensive theories of right action because they consider both motives and consequences in making moral decision, whereas Kant’s theory does not. Consequentialist theories of right action have two components. The first component states that a consequentialist theory will always answer what is intrinsically valuable. An object or thing that has intrinsic value is something that has value for its own sake. For example, pleasure and the feeling of happiness are intrinsically valuable because they are good in and of itself. The specific thing that is deemed intrinsically valuable can change according to what consequentialist theory one accepts. For example, utilitarians find the welfare of sentient beings intrinsically valuable while a hedonistic utilitarian finds only pleasure intrinsically valuable. The second...
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...Deontology views morality based on its accordance to duties, accepted norms, and motives. From a deontological perspective, something is moral acceptable if you can justify your actions with a legitimate purpose or a principle of responsibility. Kant created what is known as the categorical imperative, which is known as his famous statement to these duties of deontology. Kant’s categorical imperative uses two principle formulations. These formulations are universal law and the formula of the end itself. The formula of universal law is the staple of Kant’s ethical theory. This is because this law is the method for determining morality of actions. The philosophy of deontology states that in order to determine if something is morally correct, we must first rule out every consequence caused by the current action. This is because, in deontology consequences are irrelevant, as deontology mainly focuses on the motives of ones actions. This is because Kant believes that good will is the only matter of moral significance. The outcome is of no consequence and isn’t even considered an option when evaluating a situation. Things such as courage, knowledge and power can become bad if they are used with wrongful intentions. Topics that Kant discusses are lying and promise keeping. He believes that it is acceptable to not keep a promise, only if the promise was made with the intention and expectation of keeping it. As for lying, the categorical imperative states that lying is never permissible...
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...Ethics Ethics The schools of thought; virtue ethics, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics, have their similarities and differences relating to how they deal with matters of morality and ethics within a society or even with the individual. As a consequence, the benefits, and consequences suffered by an individual will depend on the theory adopted and applied. In this paper I will attempt to distinguish the three schools of thought citing appropriate examples from my personal experiences. Virtue theory takes the view that human beings do have virtues that for the “greater good” up help despite the nature of the action. This theory states that the individual makes a decision on whether to take a certain action while looking at the consequences of the theory. The theory further states that the virtues in each of us drive our behavior as well as control how we interpret or feel about things. As a consequence, a person acts in accordance with his or her morals and virtues (Sterba, 2009). Turning to utilitarianism, we have to understand that it deals with what is of “the greatest good for the highest number of people.” The theory adopts the concept of analyzing benefits that are essentially for the good of the whole community or society as opposed to what may be good for an individual; the greatest benefit for the majority is always desired. The theory also holds that although the majority may be the objective of decision making...
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... 2011). Principal and Cause According to Aristotle there are four different kinds of cause, it is important to note that he claims that one and the same thing can be a cause in more than one sense. As he puts it, “form, mover, and telos often coincide”. And in De Animahe is perfectly explicit that the soul, which is the form or essence of a living thing, “is a cause in three of the ways we have distinguished” efficient, formal, and final (Cohen, 2011). Right From Wrong Learning right from wrong is something we pick up early in life. If someone were to say lying is wrong, then it may be attributed as a wrongness to an act lying. Whether lying has that property is an objective matter, thereby the statement is objectively either true or false. What Is Morality Whereas morality refers to an existing code of conduct instilled by society. This is a universal rule that applies to all human beings. Morality has also been taken to refer to any code of conduct that a person or group takes as most important (Homiak, 2011). Demographics Change However, in terms of social philosophy it also deals with subtle...
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...less on the lie told and more on the decision to lie. Virtue ethics has been considered to be self centered and not to guide our actions properly. Virtue ethics encourages people to develop good character traits and break bad habits. A virtue ethicist, however, would focus less on lying in any particular instance and instead consider what a decision to tell a lie or not tell a lie said about one's character and moral behavior. As such, lying would be made in a case-by-case basis that would be based on factors such as personal benefit, group benefit, and intentions (as to whether they are benevolent or malevolent). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_ethics) Deontological or duty ethics emphasizes on following rules. Deontological is an approach to ethics that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. (http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/kabernd/indep/carainbow/Theories.htm)The rules to be followed are a point of contention and criticism in deontological ethics. Every action is judged by its adherence or lack thereof to an objective moral code. A deontologist might argue that lying is always wrong, regardless of any potential "good" that might come from lying....
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...Assignment 1: Application of the Normative Ethical Theories * 15% of your final mark * Length: 1000 ±100 words * Submit after completing Units 1 & 2 (approximately 5 weeks into the course, according to the recommended schedule). 1. Choose ONE of the cases that appear in Units 1 & 2 of the Philosophy 333 Study Guide except Case 2. 1. However, please refer to the discussion regarding Case 2.1 in Unit 2, under the heading “Applying Normative Theories to a Moral Situation”, as an example of how to apply moral theories to a case. 2. Clearly state a professional ethics issue that pertains to the case. It is recommended that you state your issue in question form. 3. Choose TWO out of the five moral theories studied in Unit 2, but only one version of Utilitarian theory at most (e.g. not both Act and Rule Utilitarianism). 4. In essay-form[1], and in one document, apply each of the two theories to the case, focusing on your stated issue, by doing the following: a. For each theory, provide an explanation of the theories basic approach to moral evaluation and decision making. b. Ethically analyze your stated issue using each of the two theories. The idea here is to adopt the strategy of each of the theories to present what you think is a reasonable and balanced ethical analysis of your issue. In doing so, your aims are (i) to show that you understand how the theories work and (ii) to show that you can use them to express the ethical reasoning...
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...It is said that one of the best ways to learn about the present is to look to the past. History does indeed tend to repeat itself and thus, we look to the past as a guide to the future so as to choose the correct course of action. Oftentimes, literature depicts circumstances in which one can extrapolate meaning and relate it to life. Such is the case in Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the book, Twain expertly illustrates the character of Huck Finn as well as southern society. Through his storytelling, one can find lessons that are vital to society today such as the consequences of being dishonest, the negative impact of the prevalence of racism, and the importance of choosing your own morality. Lying – it is something so innate to us humans that many of us do not think about it at all. Odds are every single one of us tells multiple lies each day, no matter how small. The con men of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Duke and the Dauphin, are two pathological liars who use their craft to beguile unsuspecting victims for monetary gain. Again and again, the pair of con men performed the play “The Royal Nonsuch”, a performance that was advertised by them as being something worth seeing but in actuality was a scam. They narrowly escaped persecution on several occasions due to luck being on their side. Ultimately, Twain shows how there was consequences of the repeated deceit of the Duke and the Dauphin with them being tarred and feathered. In taking...
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...Max Carey Ethics Paper 2 December 2, 2011 The Argument for Consequentialism Consequentialism and Imannuel Kant’s Theory of Moral Value provide a good framework for deciding what right actions are and specifically what actions are deemed intrinsically valuable. Consequentialism is going to emphasis that actions maximizing intrinsic value of all people affected by a situation are morally right while Kant is going to stress that only the motive behind an action determines whether an action is right, regardless of the consequences. Although consequentialism attributes the rightness of an action only on a consequence, consequentialist theories are broader theories of right action because they consider both motives and consequences in making moral decision, whereas Kant’s theory does not. Consequentialist theories of right action have two components. The first component states that a consequentialist theory will always answer what is intrinsically valuable. An object or thing that has intrinsic value is something that has value for its own sake. For example, pleasure and the feeling of happiness are intrinsically valuable because they are good in and of itself. The specific thing that is deemed intrinsically valuable can change according to what consequentialist theory one accepts. For example, utilitarians find the welfare of sentient beings intrinsically valuable while a hedonist finds only pleasure intrinsically valuable. The second component of consequentialist...
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