Essay on "Comparison of Ethical Theories"

Essay 6 pages (1982 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Ethical Theories

Ethics is an elusive concept that refers to the standards of what is right and what is wrong. Ethics is based on what people should do in terms of fairness, values and obligations. Ethics theory provides the framework for better understanding the rationale behind ethics as a concept. This paper will compare some of the more popular theories, giving their strengths and weaknesses. This includes:Relativism, Utilitarianism, Egoism, Kant's theory, Natural law / Rights and virtue ethics.

Relativism:

Relativism as an ethical theory surmises that there are no ethical absolutes, when it comes to what is right and what is wrong. Instead, a group's ethics changes and evolves with the social norms of the members of the group, as well with the cultural changes that occur over time. What is right for the individual is dependent on what the group feels is right. An example of ethical relativism is slavery ("What is Ethical Relativism?").

The primary strength of relativism includes its ability to change with the increased social awareness over time. As an example, not so long ago, it was considered by many to be ethical to own slaves. Not only was it deemed acceptable to own slaves, but it was also perfectly acceptable to treat these human beings as sub-human, as chattel. However, as society realized the how inhumane this treatment was and that it was unfair to treat people like livestock, just because they were a different race. As American culture changed, slavery no longer was deemed ethical.

The weakness of relativism lies in its inability to provide an accurate measure of the group's values and morals.

Relying on an individual's or a society's moral choices is analogous to using our sense of touch to determine the extent of a child's fever. When a child is sick, a more precise and consistent measurement is imperative. Our mental growth and the health of our soul is also worthy of a more accurate gauge than subjective human feelings. (in addition,)

conventional relativism implies that all you have to do is convince a few of your close friends to engage in some activity that is viewed as immoral by the rest of society.

Suddenly you have now made the previously unacceptable activity ethically and morally correct for you ("What is Ethical Relativism?").

Utilitarianism:

Utilitarianism was founded by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (Weiss). Although there are a variety of interpretations of this ethical theory, the basic premise is an action is deemed to be right or wrong based on the consequences of that action. In utilitarianism, the end justifies the means. For this reason, the results of an action, despite the other factors that motivations or means for the original action, are all that matters in determining if the action is good or just. Utilitarianism further surmises that an action is ethical if that action provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Morally correct actions, according to utilitarianism, also are those that offer a ratio of net benefits vs. costs that is greater than this same benefits vs. costs ration of any other alternatives. Lastly, utilitarianism theorizes that an action is right if the benefits are the greatest for each individual and these outweigh the costs as well as the benefits of other solutions (MacKinnon).

The strength of utilitarianism lies in the altruistic nature of this theory. The seeking of "greater good" is powerful. If one were to look at a decision from a very wide perspective, it could be easy to see the value in making a decision based on the amount of good it does to the greatest number of people. However, utilitarianism's weakness is that when one looks closer at the individuals affected by the decision, there will be those who lose in the decision. This ethical theory doesn't take into consideration the rights of the individual or protection of minorities. There is no respect for human dignity in utilitarianism. In addition, it is not always possible to accurately anticipate the consequences of every decision.

Egoism:

Ethical egoism is the theory that to act ethically, an individual must act from their own self-interest. This theory has two strengths. First, if adopted, then everything that benefits the individual becomes morally right. The second strength lies in the simplicity of this theory. The decision making is fairly straight forward, with few moral conundrums. Of course, the weaknesses of this theory are much more significant than the strengths.

Obviously, egoism could ethically justify actions that could harm a lot of people. With egoism, a bank robber is morally right in robbing a bank, because the action benefits them individually. An employee is morally right in stealing money from the cash register, because the action benefits them individually. it's a hypocritical theory in that an individual who subscribes to egoism would never want anyone else to subscribe to this same theory, as it would mean that that person would be looking out for their own interests, which may negatively affect the first person's interests. Of course, the major weakness of egoism is that this theory provides different ethically just actions for the exact same situation, depending on whose perspective is taken.

Kant's Theory:

Immanuel Kant surmised "that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality he dubbed the 'Categorical Imperative' (CI). Immorality thus involves a violation of the CI and is thereby irrational" ("Kant's Moral Philosophy"). This theory was contrary to Locke and Hobbes theory which "argued that moral requirements are based on standards of rationality" ("Kant's Moral Philosophy"). Kant's ethical theory lies at the other end of the theoretical spectrum when it is compared to utilitarianism. Kant's theory does not rely on what the consequences of an action will be. Where utilitarianism centers on the end justifying the means, in Kant's theory, the means justifies the end. In its most basic form, Kant states the right thing should be done no matter what the consequences will be.

The strength in Kant's theory is that it does not favor any one person or group of people. Each person is as important as the next. In addition, the morally right decision is the same no matter what. If it is morally right to take an action at one point in time, it will be just as morally right to take that same action any other time. The decision makers do not have to worry about consequences, which leads to a final strength, in that there is no chance that the decision maker will inaccurately predict all of the consequences to their actions, they only have to concern themselves with what is the morally right thing to do in the present.

The weakness in Kant's theory is the rigidness of his categorical imperative. As mentioned, an action that is deemed morally right will always be deemed morally right. Kant's theory fails to take into consideration extenuating factors, let along the consequences of the action. This makes the process very impersonal, which can lead to results that actually harm others, because there are no exceptions. As an example, a man is in a department store and sees a stack of blankets near one of the exits. His ethical dilemma -- should he steal one or not? Kant's theory would say he should not steal the blanket as the act of stealing is morally wrong. The reasons why the man is stealing the blanket, and the results that will happen after the theft, do not matter. Even if a person following Kant's theory knew that the man was homeless and this prevent the man from freezing later that evening, the recommended moral action would be the same -- do not steal the blanket. However, utilitarianism would have the man steal the blanket, as the theft would do the greatest amount of good, then the option of not stealing it, by saving the man's life. Furthermore, Kant's theory does not allow for cultural differences in determining what is and isn't ethical. The theory concludes that what is morally right in one culture will be morally right in all cultures.

Natural Law/Rights:

Natural law theory was first developed in Ancient Greece. Later, St. Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke built on the Grecian work and created natural law theory treatises of their own. Natural law theory is the ethical theory that surmises all humans have certain innate rights and are governed by the laws of nature. These laws of nature go beyond the social laws legislated by man. "Natural law theory has heavily influenced the laws and governments of many nations, including England and the United States, and it is also reflected in publications like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" ("What is Natural Law Theory?"). In fact, it would be natural law theory that many philosophers turn to when criticizing the "positive" laws, as the theory calls the man-made legislated laws.

The main strength of natural law theory is that these laws center on universal ideas that are… READ MORE

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