Natural Law, Utilitarianism, And Kant's Theory

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There are many different ethical theories that we have learned about throughout the semesters. The three theories I have decided to use in arguing about same sex marriage are Natural Law, Utilitarianism, and Kant’s Theory. With each ethical theory, I will state why I chose the theory that addresses the situation and discuss the pros and cons of each of the theories.
The first ethical theory that I though would fit well with same sex marriage is Natural Law. “Natural law theory says that the morally right action is the one that follows the dictates of nature.” (Vaughn, 71) In other words, we are supposed to live according to natural law, that is , we are to fulfill our rightful, natural purpose. For example, Lying would be considered immoral
“Utilitarianism says that the morally right action is the one that produces the most favorable balance of good over evil, everyone considered.” (Vaughn, 69) This theory has great points for Pro’s and Con’s about this situation. I will first start off with pro’s about same sex marriage. It can bring happiness to some people. That’s what utilitarianism is all about is good over evil. People are born to be homosexual, they do not choose to be the way they are. Everyone finds their happiness in different ways and in some cases its finding someone the same sex as you. Everyone is considered here and we should treat everyone equal, whether they are straight, gay, or lesbian. The con’s for this situation is that it isn’t producing future generations. This could hurt us in the future by not having population in this world. On page 433, it states that Marriage is the place where having children is not only tolerated but welcomed and encouraged, because it gives children mothers and fathers. If we are going to allow homosexuals to get married, it will be hard to give children a family with a mother and father. Those being raised up with two females or two males would be totally different than growing up with one of each. Overall, with the theory of Utilitarianism they are for and against same sex marriage. As long as everyone is considered, we are producing good over
“Kant’s theory, then, is the view that the morally right action is the one done in accordance with the categorical imperative.” (Vaughn, 70) In other words, the rightness of an action depends solely on its consequences, on what results the action produces for the individuals involved. Each individual should get some respect and that leads me into my pro’s for this theory. Everyone should be given respect and given rights to the highest priority. We should have to treat someone different because they have a different view on something. They are human too and not everyone is going to come to the same thing on an issue. Everyone has their beliefs and opinions on every issue in this world. With same sex marriages, it’s a little different because more people bring it into religious views or how they were raised. “Kant would not have liked the notion of same sex marriage, but it’s possible to harness some of his insights to support his practice.” (Vaughn, 431) On the other hand, this means there is people who don’t agree with same sex marriage in this theory as well. One person who definitely doesn’t agree with it is Maggie Gallagher. She believes that not only is it wrong, but brings a disaster to a family. “Same sex marriage would enshrine in law a public judgement that the desire of adult for families of choice outweighs the need of children for mothers and fathers.” (Vaughn, 431) She believes that the

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