Thesis on "Is There Such a Thing as an Acceptable Killing or Is All Murder Morally Wrong?"
Thesis 4 pages (1505 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
MurderThe Morality of Murder:
Similar Views, Different Circumstances
Starring in the movie Valkyrie, Tom Cruise portrays Calus Von Stauffenberg, the famous German military officer who plotted to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944 (Silverman, 2009). Cruise's convincing portrayal of Stauffenberg beings many ethical issues to mind. Adolf Hitler brought about the deaths of many innocent people. Murdering him in 1944 would have saved lives, but was Von Stauffenberg's attempt ethically justified? Is murder ever morally right; is it ever acceptable to kill? Through a brief history of murder and its ethics, as well as a perusal of the concept through the divine command and natural law theories, one can determine that murder is morally and ethically justified in certain cases.
As long as there has been humanity, there has been murder. The Bible recounts the story of Cain and Able as the story of the first murder. Upset with his brother, Cain calls his brother, Able, into a field where he ruthlessly murders him out of jealousy. The question of whether or not this murder is morally acceptable is answered quite clearly by God, who curses Cain for his misdeed (Holy Bible, New International Version, Genesis 4:2-10). Even from the point-of-view of today's society, the fact that Cain's murder was not morally acceptable is easy to see for most ethicists. No good came from this murder. Instead, the murder was merely wrought out of Cain's own jealousy and frustration. However, not all acts of murder are as easy to classify as Cain's. Throughout history, murder has served as a tool for avenging the innocent, punishing the guilty, and comforting the suffer
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Just as history has shown cases where murder has been a moral or acceptable act, and society has emphasized that morality, the divine command theory also allows for acceptable or moral murder. As this theory is primarily concerned with the morality of God, and suggests that "morality is ultimately based on the commands or character of God, and that the morally right action is the one that God commands or requires" (Austin, 2006), murder can quite easily be made moral, ethical, or acceptable. The only measure necessary for this to occur is for God to desire murder. The instances in which God declares that murder is necessary are the instances in which murder is right. Austin (2006) points out that divine command theory holds that morality changes based on which God believes in. Throughout both history and modernity, there have been many cases in which a God or God's commandments have been used to justify murder. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the Judeo-Christian God often called for the murder of those who did not believe in the same God as the chosen people. In addition, the concept of Jihad is often taken to mean a command from God to murder unbelievers in extreme Muslim faiths. Those who bomb abortion clinics have often suggested that God commanded them to do such a thing. Thus, the divine command theory's connection with murder has been established for centuries. Many believe that murder is morally right or acceptable in certain circumstances because morality comes from God and they believe God is directing them to murder. Thus, the divine command theory certainly sanctions murder ins some instances by arguing that murder is not objective, but is simply defined as what God commands. While divine command theory may be enough to justify the sometimes acceptability of murder to those who believe in God, however, Anscombe (1958, as cited in Austin, 2006) argues that society has denied the existence of God, and should not, therefore, use terms that relate to a God as paramount for making its decisions. Thus, the divine command theory cannot be used to justify murder in some instances to those who do not believe in God.
It is here where natural law comes in. Contrary to the divine command theory, natural law suggests that morality is "objectively derived from the nature of human beings and the nature of the world" (Himma, 2009). Instead of divine command theory, which argues that morality is that which God decrees, natural law theory is derived from what the bulk of society thinks is moral. While the above cases of murder in the name of God would not strike the bulk of society as moral actions, humans still suggest that murder is acceptable in some circumstances. Those circumstances are just not the same ones that those following the divine command theory would identify. The fact that humans, as a whole, do agree that murder is necessary in some circumstances can be reflected by the fact that both abortion and the death penalty are legal in states in the United States. As a democracy, or rule by the people, the United States' laws reflect its citizens. In addition, in Europe, where legal euthanasia for adults is available in many countries, it is clear that that the bulk of that society believes that death is moral in certain instances. In fact, in Britain, as much as 82% of the populating supports euthanasia (Docker, 2003). Thus, natural law theory suggests that if the human population finds its moral, an action is moral. Since the bulk of societies find murder to be acceptable in some instances, through the legalization or support of various types of murder, it is clear that natural law theory would argue that murder is legal in some instances.
Thus, from Hitler to the modern debate over euthanasia, the issue of the morality of murder in certain circumstances has been far-reaching. History suggests that murder has commonly been viewed as acceptable in circumstances ranging from punishment to relief of suffering. Ethical theories such as the divine command theory and natural law theory also see murder… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Is There Such a Thing as an Acceptable Killing or Is All Murder Morally Wrong?" Assignment:
Dennis Suritis, Order Number, dsuritis@gmail.com, and "*****.com" on the first page of your fax.
Research Paper Guidelines
Ethical analysis of an issue.
Requirements:
1. Choose an ethical issue that you would like to explore in a research paper.
2. Get the topic approved.
3. Type a 4-7 page paper, double spaced with a bibliography or works cited page included.
4. Turn paper in on 4-16-09 . DO NOT MAIL PAPERS TO ME.
General outline of the paper:
1. Detail the brief history of the problem or define what the ethical issue is.
2. Identify the ethical concerns of the issue that you choose and provide research, statistics, or examples to support your argument. I recommend presenting one side of the argument, but you can present both sides if you choose to do so.
3. Utilize one or more of the ethical theories that we studied in class to support your argument. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PAPER!!
Do not use more than four theories in your paper.
4. Present a solution or recommendation if possible.
(My chosen ethical issue)
Is there such a thing as an acceptable killing? Is all murder morally wrong?
Things that I will be looking for in your paper:
1. Clear introduction that includes thesis statement and essay map.
2. Properly developed topic.
3. Ethical theories used to support the argument. If these are omitted, you cannot get an A on the paper.
(I want to use these 2 ethical theories, *****Divine Command Theory*****, and Natural Law Theory*****
4. Properly cited resources WITHIN the paper. Be sure that sources are legitimate.
NO WIKIPEDIA. Any style of citation is acceptable.
5. Bibliography or works cited page.
6. Proper English must be utilized throughout the paper.
Common errors:
1. forgetting the ethical theories.
2. not proof reading the papers for spelling, punctuation, grammar, capitalization
3. forgetting to cite resources within the paper
4. Structural problems-run on sentences, fragments, shifting voice or verb tense.
5. Not following the essay map-lack of cohesiveness
*****
How to Reference "Is There Such a Thing as an Acceptable Killing or Is All Murder Morally Wrong?" Thesis in a Bibliography
“Is There Such a Thing as an Acceptable Killing or Is All Murder Morally Wrong?.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/murder-morality/36488. Accessed 6 Oct 2024.
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