Ethical Theories on Stealing

Ethical Theories on Stealing

All human societies and communities have basic ethical principles that constitute certain moral codes. People formulated these principles and rules many centuries ago; they are fundamentals that structure human behavior and as such are included in all major religious and ethical systems. One of these basic rules is “do not steal”, something children are taught from their very early age. In our rapidly developing and dramatically changing contemporary world, ethical issues and problems are becoming ever more important and urgent. Maintaining basic ethical principles in a variety of settings and conditions requires more than accepting major moral values; it calls for courage, commitment, character, and strong and flexible reasoning and judgment. Ethical principles have been developed by different philosophical teachings and theories that analyze and structure worldview principles including, as one of their basic parts, ethical issues. In their everyday life, people often use words “good” or “bad” defining by them what they understand as ethical, or moral behavior or that which is immoral or unethical. They normally make no discrimination between ethics and morality, although the former “seems to pertain to the individual character of a person or persons, whereas morality seems to point to the relationships between human beings” (Thiroux Jacques P.20). The simple definitions of “good” and “bad”, however, turn out to be complicated and even controversial when we try to formulate consistently the principles that underpin them or define standards for judging and evaluating these norms.

Stealing: Consequential-based Approach and Interpretations

Conclusions on what is “moral” and “ethical” often depen...

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...ts. The consequential approach focuses on utilitarian, pragmatic outcomes of negative nature; non-consequentialism rejects stealing as something contrary to the inherent norms of morality. Both approaches should be used to fight stealing; however, certain principles seem more controversial when the consequential approach is applied. Non-consequential principles, although less pragmatic, help to make the right choice when non-consequential ones are less potent.

Works Cited

Fieser, James. Moral Philosophy through the Ages. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2011. Print.

Hinman, Lawrence M. Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory. 5 ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing; 2011. Print.

Thiroux, Jacques P. and Krasemann Keith W. Ethics: Theory and Practice. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.