Moral Goodness through Ethical Principles

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Moral Goodness through Ethical Principles

The ability to interpret the morally correct (morally good) resolution to a moral, when confronted by a moral dilemma, can be a very difficult task. Ethics is the search for universal objective principles for evaluating human behavior, good or bad. In societies, ethics are developed by their religious beliefs, government, and through experience. Social ethics serve as the premise for morality. Humans through ethics create morality, a personal or social code of conduct. The principles for one's morality are founded by the ethical standards of their society. Through experience, education, religion, and morality humans develop morals based on social and religious ethics. Morals give humans the ability to distinguish the morally right/good decision to make when confronted with a moral dilemma. However, in some instances we are confronted with a morally problematic situation in which it is difficult to distinguish the morally correct solution. For example, we'll consider the morally problematic situation faced by the Smith's. The Smith family is like any average, American, middle-class family of Catholic faith. One night Jim, the Smith's eldest son who had jus graduated from college, went out to a bar for a friend's birthday. Later, in the morning hours, Jim decides that he should go home. Jim decides to drive home even though he was very intoxicated. On his way home Jim runs a red light proceeding to smash into a car, instantly killing the driver. Jim leaves the scene, of which there were no witnesses, and hurries home. His parents tell him to stay at the house while they attempt to resolve and analyze the situation. The next day, a couple of police officers arrive at the house and ques...

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... be no concept of good and bad. Morals and ethics make it possible for us to live in a society as a community with laws and regulations.

The ethical principles of Mortimer and Mill raise many questions towards the morally problematic situation faced by the Smith's. Although the Smith's don't want to lose their son, it seen through both of the principles that the only morally correct solution for the Smith's situation is for them to turn their son over to the police. Morals make us who we are as an individual and as a society. In order to have a prosperous society we must do what is morally good, in any instance. If we did not follow what was morally good, then our society would be filled with anarchy due to the lack of laws.

Bibliography:

Klieman,Lowell;Lewis,Stephen. Philosophy: An Introduction Through Literature- 1st Edition.

Paragon House, 1990.

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