Deciding what is wrong and Right - Essay Example

Ethics entails the level of right things and wrong that humans ought to do. The standards depend on personal values. They may be in terms of responsibilities, the public image or benefits, fairness and rights or specific virtues. Standards restrain people from anti-social behaviors like rape, assault, fraud, and murder. Being ethical requires making a moral judgment that is something not easy. The moral behavior takes courage and needs practice. Therefore, ethics has to do with the feelings that tell one what is right and what is wrong. The ethical decisions we make relies on our core values (Cahn and Markie 97) The moral sense pertains individual particular emotional act. An act is right if the agent during the moment of action feels emotional approval towards an action. From this sense, one tends to perform an act that he or she approves. One abstains from an action that the person disapproves. Some emotions are called approval and others disapproval. In most instances, there must be some level of truth in the choice one take. Another judgment of approval may or may not be right (Shafer-Landau 88). Scholars like Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Mill touches on the right or the wrong act as understood in ethics. Views from Scholars Aristotle, Plato, Kant and Mill in their works talk at different levels about making the right decision. Aristotle represents virtue ethics. Kant talks of duty ethics. Mill discusses utilitarianism. The four writers dwell on morality in their search for the right actions or highest good. Aristotle’s view is in self-sufficiency in the fulfillment of the ultimate desire. He emphasizes on the conformity with the personal virtues. He regards happiness as an activity of the soul in accord with the perfect virtue. To him, people have to behave right to achieve happiness. As a Plato’s student, he loved to categorized things. Aristotle argues that for our actions to be moral or immoral, right or wrong, we must have a certain level of health and wealth. He adopted a scientific and empirical approach to the problems resulted from ethics. Happiness to Aristotle is achieved by acting moderately. What is good for one person may not be right for another person. The use of reason alone may not define what is best for him (Cahn and Markie 203) Plato, Aristotle’s teacher, states that the good or right is of the knowledge, and the evil or wrong is from the lack of knowledge. Therefore, a question of a good act is purely intellectual. He argues that there is only one right course of action. He dictates that the truth in every case is independent of human opinion or human interpretation. Therefore, contemplation, information, and intellection training is to lead to happiness in making the right choice. Immanuel Kant identifies the essence of morality being the motive behind an act. He views morality in terms of intention rather than consequences. Therefore, the good intentions pave the way to get a reward in heaven. To him, only the voluntary actions appear as either immoral or moral. Everyone has to act in a right way if we were acting under duress. The only good thing is a good will. Unlike Mill, Kant views morality as a matter of intentions of an agent acting rather than the effects or the consequences of the action. A duty to Kant takes the form of a decent law. The law is common in contrast to desires or inclination, which is personal. One has to act in a right way such that the rule under which one operates becomes universal law. Therefore, one should act in a way that other agent should also act. For example, to Kant, lying sets a double standard in that we expect others to tell the truth, but one makes an exception for oneself. Therefore, lying can never be universal law since it is an action that not everyone is ready to do (Shafer-Landau 56) John Stuart Mill proposes that an action is right as long as it can produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Simple and pure, this is a number game, majority rules. Utilitarianism identifies happiness in terms of pleasure. It separates the action and its consequences from the one who perform the work. Helps in making sound decisions, for example, a child who burns a house down is not a bad child but is a child who has done a wrong thing. It stresses the effects of action rather than the motives. Regardless of whether the person has a good or an evil intention, if something has the undesirable effect, it is wrong. Therefore, according to utilitarianism, the right thing is associated with something good, and it is related to democracy. Personal Preference I prefer Mill’s view as an action is right when it promotes happiness for anyone affected by him or her. Wrong actions promote unhappiness in life. “Misery Clearly Hampers a Good Life; Happiness Clearly Improves It” (Shafer-Landau 32). Happiness relates to pleasure and the absence of pain. The comfort and the freedom from pain are the desirable things in life. The consequence of life can be good even if the motive is wrong. Mill determines the rightness or the wrongness of an action according to the results. He does not consider the cause, whether the pain is, or the pleasure produced (Pojman 179). Deciding what is right and wrong Determining the right thing to do presents ethical dilemmas consisting of competing values. It is hard for one to decide on what is right and wrong. Scholars have different views of ethical, moral and immorality, right and wrong. To navigate moral dilemma, one have to with follow the law. It is important to recognize the moral issue before an act. We have to think about the matter and not to brush it off. One has to think of the level of the dilemma, whether it affect the subject or another person. After that, facts should be gathered about the situation at hand. With gathering the facts about the dilemma, we will identify the competing ethical values related to the question (Pojman 66) Analyze the compromising position that holds true to the moral principles is important. In analysis, a common sense has to be applied. The decision is on an end based basis. Application of the principle of utilitarianism judges the decision by the type of consequences of the act. Analyzing the situation may also be on the rule-based. As from the teachings of Immanuel Kant, this option does not consider consequences rather the ethical decisions under the decision. Therefore, one has to try making the right choice no matter the result. Conclusion In deciding between right and wrong, one has to consider the rule of reciprocity. This rule is care-based. Think of how the decision will affect others. Also, consider fairness or justice. While making the decision, try to involve others if possible. In complicated instances, a counsel such as a peer or a friend has to seek or from a trusted advisor. Consider to justify the consequence of the action or the inaction. Finally, in making the right decision, one has to reflect on the decision made. The reflection will assist in making the inevitable choices in future. Works Cited Cahn, Steven M, and Peter J. Markie. Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Pojman, Louis P. The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Shafer-Landau, Russ. The Fundamentals of Ethics. 4th . London: Oxford University Press, 2015. Print. Read More