What Determines Right & Wrong?

928 Words2 Pages

How do you determine what is right or what is wrong? Personally, I feel that from within ourselves, we know when we have done right and when we have done wrong. This may not stop someone from doing wrong, but, within themselves, I believe that they know they are doing wrong. I believe that someone knows when they have hurt someone else feelings or caused harm to someone. Consequently, I do not make up a culture, which has merits on determining right or wrong. Within this report, ethical relativism will be define and discussed how it relates to right and wrong as well as the corruption that I discussed in the previous assignment.

Ethical relativism is the theory on the moral norms practiced within the society to determine whether an action is right or wrong. In other words, a society’s practices judge its own moral standards. In ethical relativism, anthropologist believed there are no standards that apply across the universe for all people at all times. Objectively, nothing is right or wrong. In determining the definition of right and wrong, it depends on a particular culture, or historical period prevailing view. The majority rule determines the terms of right and wrong.

Moral practices are different in many cultures. There are cultural practices that you would expect to be immoral all over the world, but it is not. For example, I do not understand how anyone would feel it is normal to eat love ones who have died. In some cultures, this is normal behavior. It is normal for others to burn the dead. In my culture, we bury the dead. Because I feel it is inhuman for someone to eat their loves after they have died does not give me the right to tell them they are wrong and I am right. This is the means behind ethical relativism. T...

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...rk to eliminate the bad behavior of someone stealing.

In my opinion, I feel that ethical relativism is a good method to use in preventing or limiting the corrupt behavior of stealing. The reason being is that some people may feel it is fine to steal from others. Within that particular set of people, this may be normal for them. According to ethical relativism, the norm is what applies to the decision of what is right or wrong. Since we have laws in place against stealing, the normal is not to steal and may even determine that the majority imposed the law that prohibits stealing.

Works Cited

Keown, A. J., (2010). Personal finance: turning money into wealth. Boston: Prentice Hall.

Velasquez, M., & Andre, C., & Shanks, T., & Meyer, S.J., & M. J., (1992). Ethical relativism. Retrieved from: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativism.html

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