Ethics: Differing Viewpoints
Countless times, individuals are forced to make extremely difficult decisions.They try to form some type of rationale to justify their choices. However, many people do not realize how many approaches exist for people to arrive at a conclusion. Ethics teaches two broad theories: consequentialism and nonconsequentialism. In one particular case, a successful high school student who has just become pregnant, Jill, looks for advice from several trusted friends and family members. Each of these individuals have contrasting views on morality, and Jill uses their advice to ultimately come to her decision.
To begin with, Jill contacted her school counselor. As an act utilitarian, Jill’s school counselor would most likely
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have started the conversation by asking Jill if by having an abortion, she would be the most happy. Jill was forced to consider the attitudes of her teammates, her parents, and her boyfriend. Would she be happy if they held her pregnancy against her? Act utilitarians act on the decision that will bring about the greatest amount of good or happiness (Thiroux 43). This advice led Jill to become comfortable with the idea of undergoing an abortion. She realized this would satisfy the wishes of her boyfriend, make her teammates happy, and secure a college scholarship. All this without her parents even knowing she was pregnant. However, Jill would have to understand she is killing an innocent human being. Typically, abortion has long-lasting negative consequences on the mother, which would leave Jill feeling depressed and empty (221). Despite her counselor’s advice, Jill felt she still needed to seek additional guidance. Her coach, a rule ego ethicist, was the next person Jill approached. Her coach likely instructed Jill to act in her own self-interest. Since her coach was also in the midst of reading Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged, she probably discussed Rand’s concept of the “virtue of selfishness” (Raibley 1). Due to these suggestions, Jill felt that an abortion would be in her own self-interest. After visiting with two consequentialists, Jill decided it would be to her advantage to talk with those who identify as nonconsequentialists. Thirdly, Jill met with her local pastor, Reverend Lewis. Reverend Lewis is a follower of the Divine/Natural Law theory. Considering that Jill’s family is Catholic, Reverend Lewis is probably a Christian pastor. Therefore, Reverend Lewis derives his basis for morality from the Ten Commandments. According to the Sixth Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill”, one should not murder another human being (“Exodus 20” 1). Reverend Lewis, consequently, would have strongly encouraged Jill not to have an abortion and would have advised her to accept her mistake, despite the many negative consequences. She will preserve life, and learn that one must always take responsibility for their actions. After this conversation, Jill sought out her uncle, Jonathan.
Intuitionists consult their consciences to determine if a decision classifies as right or wrong. Since Jill’s uncle classifies himself as an intuitionist, he would gather his advice from his conscience as well. Jonathan’s conscience would have led him to give her advice based on events that have occurred in his life. One of the problems associated with intuitionism is the idea that each individual’s conscience directs them a different way (Thiroux 48). Even though Jill was seeking helpful advice, Jonathan has experienced life differently and may have led her astray. It is difficult to determine exactly what Jonathan told her, but Jonathan, based on his instinct, probably advised Jill not to have an abortion. Jonathan, based on the fact that Jill’s family is Christian, has most likely been raised to respect life and own one’s choices. Deep down, he knows that abortion is morally …show more content…
wrong. Next, Jill approached her favorite teacher for advice. Jill’s teacher describes herself as a believer in Kant’s Duty Ethics. Because of this, Jill’s teacher understands that it is her duty to obey the laws of morality. Kant believed that morality was determined by whether a situation could be made rational or irrational by applying it to everyone (Thiroux 50). He called this the categorical imperative. Jill’s teacher might have applied the categorical imperative by asking Jill, “Would it be acceptable for all pregnant women to have abortions?” Jill may have answered “no” on the premise that if every pregnant woman had an abortion, human life would eventually cease to exist. But, she may have further asked herself if it would be acceptable for all teenagers to have abortions. At this point, Jill would have been able to rationalize her situation. Finally, Jill decided to talk with her brother who is a believer in Ross’s theory of Prima Facie Duties. Individuals who follow Ross’s theory must adhere to a list of established duties Ross created. These include: fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and nonmaleficence (Thiroux 54). Abortion would contradict two of Ross’s principles---beneficence and self-improvement. Yet, if Jill were to assume this position, she would also sacrifice the happiness she would gain as a college student and athlete. In this case, her brother would refer to Ross’s solution to dealing with conflicting duties which states that one is to always to act on the more dominant prima facie duty. Under these terms, Jill would object to having an abortion. People come face-to-face with difficult decisions every day of their lives.
Most times, simple decisions are made unconsciously. When it comes to more drastic decisions, other approaches are implemented. Two major theories of morality are consequentialism and nonconsequentialism. People use the subsequent theories of consequentialism and nonconsequentialism to aid them in making these more difficult decisions, just like Jill. After spending time discussing her situation with family and friends, Jill ultimately had to decide what to do. Personally, I would have hoped Jill would have opted not to have an abortion. However, I can see how the advice that was given to her could led her to choose to have one and I do believe this is what she probably chose. These individuals challenged her thoughts on morality; they instilled ideas in her mind that she had not previously thought about. Jill is young and naive, and was obviously concerned with herself and not the baby. Being educated on morality by others, is not always the best approach to a
situation. “Exodus 20.” Bible Gateway. Bible Gateway, 2015. Web. 19 Sep. 2015. Raibley, A. “The Virtue of Selfishness.” The Atlas Society. The Atlas Society, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 19 Sep. 2015. Thiroux, Jacques P., and Keith W. Krasemann. Ethics: Theory and Practice (Updated Eleventh Edition). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2015. Print.
...e essay she says “but I don’t feel all one way about abortion anymore, and I don’t think it serves a just cause to pretend that many of us do”(629). This quote lets the reader identify with it being okay to feel conflicted about abortion. It seems that often people feel they have to choose sides in the abortion debate. However, Quindlen allows her audience to find comfort and acceptance and not really knowing what they would do if ever faced with this decision. She uses a balance of real life examples that she has experienced and witnessed. Most of her examples touch the reader deep down inside so that they are left feeling as if they were a fly on the wall when these things were going on.
n this reflective journal entry, we are going to look at that the ethical issues that were presented in the Ethics Game simulations, the decision-making steps that were completed to address ethically the issues, and the ethical lenses that I used to make decisions throughout the simulation. We are also going to take a look at how these different ethical lenses influenced my decision and the how I could use the concepts that I have learned in my workplace.
At this point we consider the different ethical theories and how to understand the situation. I believe Erickson’s theory that explains the eight different stages of life that contribute to development would help explain why Lori is not at the right age to make such a complex decision. Since Lori is only 14, she would fall in adolescent stage where identity is at confusion and she has not fully matured yet. At this stage of Lori’s life this theory helps her explain that although Lori may think she is mature her cognitive thinking is probably not at its full capacity and needs help with such a difficult
Having an abortion is a moral choice. The essay “A Moral Choice” by Mary Gordan discusses many issues concerning abortion, the author clearly favors pro-choice. The debate about when a fetus is alive (437) is a concern as to when it is acceptable to get an abortion. As well as the morality of abortion judged in the media, religion, society, and by self. The women who get abortions are critiqued as cold and technological (441). These normal everyday women have made this moral decision for centuries. Although society needs to be realistic our world is over populated and some women are not designed to have children. How do women make this moral decision?
Many arguments in the abortion debate assume that the morality of abortion depends upon the moral status of the foetus. While I regard the moral status of the foetus as important, it is not the central issue that determines the moral justifiability of abortion. The foetus may be awarded a level of moral status, nevertheless, such status does not result in the prescription of a set moral judgement. As with many morally significant issues, there are competing interests and a variety of possible outcomes that need to be considered when making a moral judgement on abortion. While we need to determine the moral status of the foetus in order to establish the type of entity we are dealing with, it does not, however, exist in a moral vacuum. There are other key issues requiring attention, such as the moral status and interests of the pregnant woman who may desire an abortion, and importantly, the likely consequences of aborting or not aborting a particular foetus. Furthermore, I assert that moral status should be awarded as a matter of degree, based upon the capacities of sentience and self-consciousness an entity possesses. In a bid to reach a coherent conclusion on the issue, the moral status of both foetus and woman, along with the likely results of aborting a particular foetus, must be considered together. Given the multiple facets requiring consideration, I assert that utilitarianism (Mill 1863) offers a coherent framework for weighing and comparing the inputs across a variety of situations, which can determine whether it is ever morally justifiable to have an abortion.
In the article “It’s a Child, Not a Choice”, published in February of 1992, author Diane Dew writes to persuade readers about the issue of pro life. Dew writes to women, pro choice and pro life activists in an effort to inflict a guilty conscience in the minds of those who select the choice of abortion. Her intent in writing this piece is to try to convince readers of the negative aspects and irrationality of following through with an abortion. To Dew, the issues of pro choice and pro life should no longer be debatable civil rights issues. Dew supports her convictions with coherent reasoning.
In our society, there are many ethical dilemmas that we are faced with that are virtually impossible to solve. One of the most difficult and controversial issues that we are faced with is abortion. There are many strong arguments both for and against the right to have an abortion which are so complicated that it becomes impossible to resolve. The complexity of this issue lies in the different aspects of the argument. The essence of a person, rights, and who is entitled to these rights, are a few of the many aspects which are very difficult to define. There are also issues of what circumstances would justify abortion. Because the issue of abortion is virtually impossible to solve, all one can hope to do is understand the different aspects of the argument so that if he or she is faced with that issue in their own lives, they would be able to make educated and thoughtful decisions in dealing with it.
At times in a person’s life, they might come across a few situations that leave them with a major decision between two or more options that challenge what they believe or what they might think is wrong or right. These are known as ethical dilemmas. Be it seeing a friend steal something and choosing between being honest and speaking up or letting it go. It can also be getting paid more than you earned and deciding if you’re going to be greedy and keep the money or return it. We run into these situations in our lives, some bigger and more influential on our destiny’s while others are small with no real consequences.
Imagine…the birth of a human being into the world. 9 months of endless anticipation leading to someone’s first chance at seeing the world for the first time. While some enjoy the result of a pregnancy, leading to a new human being entering life, some are not so fond, or just can’t be in such a situation. Abortion is the supposed “cure” to this problem and is, for the most part, done safely. However, one of the factors stopping someone from committing an abortion is the consideration of moral status on the child.
Some of the deficiencies in the way cultural relativism addresses moral problems, according to Holmes; are that they remain impractical, they are subject to change depending on where you live, and that people tolerate the different cultures. As a professional business person, I agree with Holmes analysis. Allowing others perceptions or beliefs to get away with our own personal beliefs would be contradicting ourselves. It is important to stand up for our beliefs, and help educate others on ethical issues. Over time we can make a difference in the world by modeling moral beliefs and ethics.
He argues that an issue is deemed moral if it has the greatest pleasure to the involved individual. That is, an issue is considered morally right if it promotes happiness but considered morally inappropriate if it produces a reverse of happiness (Baird & Stuart, 38). Consequentialists defend both positions with claims that abortions have different impacts on the mother’s life.
In this assignment we will be identifying an ethical dilemma an individual has experienced. We will begin with a short introduction of what an ethical dilemma is, moving on to providing brief details of the dilemma an individual has experienced. We will then go on to selecting one ethical theory, to show how it can help an individual understand and deal with the situation when placed within, followed by a conclusion.
Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered as murder. In some situations, the mother may require to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003). In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to having a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precaution to ensure avoiding conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her choice of abortion; it...
Whether put simply or scrutinized, morality cannot be defined simply by looking at it from one or two perspectives. One must acknowledge the fact that there are several different factors that affect judgment between “right” and “wrong”. Only after taking into account everything that could possibly change the definition of righteousness can one begin to define morality. Harriet Baber, a professor at San Diego State University, defines morality as “the system through which we determine right and wrong conduct”. Baber refers to morality as a process or method when she calls it a “system”. In saying “we” she then means to say that this concept does not only apply to her but also to everyone else. Through morality, according to her, one can look at an action, idea, or situation and determine its righteousness and its consequences.
Ethics is a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy which defines what is acceptable for both individuals and society. It is a philosophy that covers a whole range of things that have an importance in everyday situations. Ethics are vital in everyones lives, it includes human values, and how to have a good life, our rights and responsibilities, moral decisions what is right and wrong, good and bad. Moral principles affect how people make decisions and lead their lives (BBC, 2013). There are many different beliefs about were ethics come from. These consist of; God and Religion, human conscience, the example of good human beings and a huge desire for the best for people in each unique situation, and political power (BBC, 2013).