Eth 316 - Ethics Essay

Ethics Essay

Denise Thomas

ETH/316

March 2, 2014

Salomon Chavira

Ethics and Morality can be seen as being the same thing yet there are many differences between the two. Morality/morals refer to the ways or principles that an individual is able to distinguish right from wrong. Ethics on the other hand is a way that one uses to determine the differences between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Three of the theories that address ethics and morality are virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontology. While each theory highlights different points each one focuses on foretelling the outcome and following one’s duties to others in order to reach an ethically correct decision. There are also downsides to each theory.

“Virtue ethics is also sometimes called agent-based or character ethics.” Boylan (2009) p. 133. Virtue ethics says you should live your life striving to do the best you can do. This theory looks at the moral character of a person carrying out an action rather than at the ethical duties, rules and consequences of a particular action. This theory is saying a person is characterized as bad or good or a combination of both. What the theory of virtue ethics says is that people develop traits throughout life as a reflection of his or her morals. The downside of the virtue ethics theory is that this theory does not justify  when good people make a bad mistake. An example would be if an adolescent gives into the peer pressure of stealing. This child/teenager has always been seen as a good person and is known to have high morals but they have made a bad descision. The virtue theory however defines the adolescent as a bad person rather than as a good person who acted badly.

The utilitarianism theory focuses on the action and states that the action is morally right if that action has the best consequences. According to Boylan (2009), this has been shortened to the slogan,” The greatest good for the greatest number.” Those who practice this theory would perform an action morally thinking of being able to help others and not just themselves. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan in WWII would be a good example of this theory. People believed that when the United States decided to drop the bomb was not the best decision because it killed so many people. People did not want to accept the truth that the United States had stopped Japan from using a similar, if not more powerful weapon on the United States; thus giving other countries the opportunity of being involved in the war as well. With this theory one would believe and understand that the United States killing many Japanese was for the greater good of many other people not only stopping the war between Japan and the United States, but it also stopped what could have been more lives lost.

Boylan (2009) states,“ Deontology is a moral theory that emphasizes one’s duty to do a particular action just because the action, itself, is inherently right and not through any other sorts of calculations—such as the consequences of the action.” (p. 171). This theory is the product of German philosopher Immanuel Kant who believed that consequences can never be part of the decision of what is right and wrong. Kant argues that being responsibly moral is only possible if one knows with absolute certainty what is right and wrong, consequences can never be certain therefore consequences can not have a part in any moral judgement. To practice deontology one would follow specific rules such as, one shall not lie, one shall not kill, or one shall not steal. An example would be say your friend runs into your house hiding from his neighbor who is mad at him for not cutting his grass and he wants to beat him up. The neighbor sees him run into your home comes to you front door and ask if you know where your friend is. You are confronted with the decision, does morality allow me to lie to protect my friend. Reflecting on the situation you realize that your beliefs do not allow you to lie in this situation or any other situation. With your beliefs lying is the wrong thing to do and therefore you must tell the truth that your friend is hiding in your home. Deontolgy ethics focus on the ability to follow the rules even if the consequences may produce an unlikely action.