Arguments Against Absolute Rule

596 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Relationships between ethics and leadership

Imagine a situation in the early 1940s Europe where a family is hiding some Jews in their house from the Nazi government. The family has two options – be honest with the government and hand the Jews to their awful fate or risk lying to the government to save the Jews’ lives. In both these options, the family would follow one generally accepted absolute rule but break another generally accepted absolute rule; the absolute rules are “do not lie” and “do not let an innocent die”. I believe most people today would support me say it is moral for the family to take the latter option even if it means not following an absolute rule – do not lie. My point is many situations can arise where two conflicting moral absolutes collide. In this case, I believe …show more content…

So, I don’t know if it is better for everyone to ought to follow absolute ethical principles or all ethical principles to be relatively conditioned. I believe in both fate and free will. I believe that our free will is limited by our fate. For example, a person might be able to run faster than he can run today, maybe exceeding expectations of many people if he trains properly. But no matter how much he trains, I doubt he’ll be able to run faster than a cheetah in a 100m race because science won’t let his body to run faster than a cheetah. It’s not in a fate of a human to outrun a cheetah in a 100m race. In the article “Michael Phelps: The 'natural' transhuman athlete,” there are lists of how Michael Phelps has the perfect human body that allows him to be the most decorated swimmer of all time (George); most of the list looks like they were the result of good genes. A swimmer might work as hard or even harder than him but might not be able to outswim him because Michael Phelps was born with a right set of genes that allows his body to swim faster. But I can surely say that I wouldn’t have heard his name (Phelps is the only professional swimmer I know) if he hadn’t worked as hard as he had, and he hadn’t got the opportunities he got. It was his free will to work hard to become the superstar we know

Show More
Related

  • Wes Moore Analysis

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Well there is always the fate aspect in everything that occurs in our lives but majority of the outcomes created from the individuals own decisions. It is up to the individual to determine what can occur, if they do one thing then something will be the outcome. A side from that, there is always the possibility of being at the wrong place at the wrong time which can have an affect of on the outcomes of life.

    Read More

  • Slaughterhouse-Five

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    A main example of fate would be when Billy is on an airplane. In Slaughterhouse-Five, it states that "Billy, knowing the plane was going to crash pretty soon, closed his eyes, traveled in time back to 1944" (198). Soon after, "the plane smacked into the top of Sugarbush Mountain in Vermont. Everyone was killed but Billy and the copilot" (199). Instead of doing anything about it, Billy just waits for the plane to crash. If Billy had free will, he would have tried to warn the others on the plane, or not gotten onto it at all.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Fate And Free Will In 'Miniver Cheevy'

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate and free will help to explain why things in life occur. This is clearly shown in the poem “Miniver Cheevy” by E.A. Robinson with the main character Cheevy. His heart desired to be born during the medieval era however he was born too late. Similarly, in O’Henry’s short story “ The Cop and the Anthem” fate and free wills roles were depicted through Soapy, the main characters, plan for the winter. Although these two pieces of literature seem completely different they both come together to show that we have no control over our fate, however, we have our free will allows us to make the best of one's fate.

    Read More

  • The Absolute in All Forms

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the course we have seen how the Absolute has been linked to every concept or idea we covered. The one that holds the most weight however is within the gods and goddesses of the Hinduism religion. Three deities in particular have appeared to reference the Absolute the most; Vishnu, Siva, and the Devi. These references to the Absolute have become recognizable through the readings of Kinsely’s, Flood’s, and Clooney’s books. In their works they talk about how each deity has thought to be the Absolute throughout the ancient times. However, in each of the readings there is some overlap in who is thought to be the Absolute. Most of these examples occur between Vishnu and Siva. There is evidence within the Hindu tradition that labels both of the gods as the Absolute, and makes use of the same ideas to prove their title. One example would be the notion of Vishnu being the sustainer of the cosmos, and Siva being the “Lord of Dance” who creates, destroys, and sustains the cosmos. We must ask ourselves if this is simply a coincidence, or if there is an underlying body of knowledge that helps us to understand the similarities between the two.

    Read More

  • Fate In Forrest Gump: Fate And Free Will

    1852 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marilyn Monroe once said, “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they 're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Is fate subjected to one’s actions or is there another force that intervenes? Two choices to pick from, but each decision will result in a different ending. Most people believe they are free to choose whatever they want, however was fate already predestined that makes people decide their fate regardless of choice? Over the centuries, people have pondered upon the fact that integrity, justice, and moral principles play a role in deciding one’s fate. Does this mean that if Odysseus were to put aside his pride and be humble along his journey home, he would not have gone through all that trouble for anything? Is fate uncontrollable even for the Gods to handle? Forrest Gump is born mental

    Read More

  • Examples Of Fate Vs Free Will Macbeth

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate vs Free Will has always been one of the most controversial topics from early history, and for no surprise because everyone is fascinated about their future. Many people believe that life is predetermined and anything you do won’t transmute your future. Others believe that you are sanctioned to mold your own destiny and optate your own path. Your mind, for example, has total free will up to the point where you believe that everything you think is controlled by faith. Then you wouldn’t have a free thought because all that you will think was always going to be thought, and thus making faith decide you. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain and that is that we’ll never know the future because it is beyond our ken.

    Read More

  • The Sports Gene By David Epstein Analysis

    371 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the 2013 article “The Sports Gene”, the author, David Epstein discusses two high jumpers with extremely different backgrounds, training, and experiences, who competed in the World Championship. Stefan Holm was an Olympic champion who endured intense training for 20 years. On the other hand, Donald Thomas was a former college basketball star, who discovered his talent for high jumping through a bet with a friend. The central idea of the passage is that there are many pathways and means that lead to success, such as training and practice or giftedness and genetics.

    Read More

  • What is Good?

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... morality is more important in making a decision than anything else and it is important for one to understand that he/she should uphold his/her personal standards before anyone else's wants, desires, or beliefs are adhered to. An ethical decision that does not uphold one's personal moral beliefs is not a good decision and shouldn't be made. Something that will bring good into one's life is a decision that is made upholding their personal moral beliefs, whether or not that decision agrees with the ethical stance on the issue. It is the individual's responsibility to make a moral decision regardless of the ethical standing in order to achieve this good. Society wants most of the people to do what is right most of the time, encouraging the people to be moral in their decisions, causing good in our everyday life, even concerning the most minute details of our lives.

    Read More

  • Winston Smith: A Tragic Hero

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fate is non-existent as one's future is based upon their own personal decisions. It is believing

    Read More

  • Destiny, Fate and Free Will in Homer's Odyssey

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fate seems to defy humanity at every turn.  A man may have his life planned out to the last second, but then some random force intervenes and he dies the second after he has completed his life plan.  Some believe in fate, believing that our lives are predetermined from the moment we are born.  Other people believe that everything is random, the result of some god rolling the dice in a universal poker game.  Still other people believe that each and every person is in total control of his or her destiny, every step of the way.  Who is to say which viewpoint is false?  Every culture has a unique perception of the role of fate in our lives, and no group has the "right answer," simply a different answer.  Taking into consideration the views of other cultures can help an individual refine his personal viewpoint on this inconceivable subject.

    Read More

  • Essay On Fate And Free Will In Macbeth

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fate and free will both have a strong rooting in the play Macbeth. The role of fate was to tell Macbeth that he was one day to become king of Scotland. Fate was not the cause of Macbeth’s downfall. The actions made under Macbeth’s free will are the sole reason for his own downfall. Macbeth was afraid that he might not become king, so he took matters into his own hands to be absolutely sure he would attain the throne. He decided to leave out chance and take the throne for himself by killing Duncan. By leaving out chance, Macbeth left out the chance for fate to bring his downfall.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Free Will Exists

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first matter to be noted is that this view is in no way in contradiction to science. Free will is a natural phenomenon, something that emerged in nature with the emergence of human beings, with their kinds of minds, minds that can think and be aware of their own thinking.

    Read More

  • Fatlism: The Theory Of Determinism And Fatalism

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    If fate did have something to do with certain coincidences and does exist then does this mean we have free will? Or are our actions controlled by the theory of Fatalism? Fatalism agrees with determinism in the argument that human beings do not have free will (Stallknecht, N. P. 1937). However fatalism is a completely different theory from determinism, as it is the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable (Sober, E. 2009). If the theory of fatalism were true then the future is independent of what you do in the present, we each have a future laid out for us and we have no power to change that. As if some higher power has control over our actions. For example, some people would say it was fate that stopped them from getting on a plane that ended up crashing (Sober, E. 2009). A popular greek myth about fatalism is the story of Oedipus whose fate was decided by a higher power that he would kill his father and marry his mother. No mater what choices he made he still ended up with the same fate (Sober, E. 2009). Fatalism, unlike determinism leaves no room for change or chance and our futures are permanently fixed and it also rules out moral reasoning (Sober, E. 2009). Determinism isn’t set in stone, how we were caused to act today could completely

    Read More

  • Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice in Oedipus the King

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    Fate. Even the word alone is intimidating. I believe I can safely say that everyone at one point in their lives have wondered about fate. "Christian fate" is something that I have never thought of before, though it is something that I believe in with all my heart. I believe that each person has a fate in store for them. Are human lives just a predetermined course of events?

    Read More

  • Fate

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    Webster defines fate as a “ a power thought to control all events and impossible to resist” “a persons destiny.” This would imply that fate has an over whelming power over the mind. This thing called fate is able to control a person and that person has no ability to change it.

    Read More

More about Arguments Against Absolute Rule

Open Document