ipl-logo

What Is Ethics Anyway Analysis

847 Words4 Pages

In What is Ethics Anyway, Johnson states that ethics is the study of morality. The question is what is morality? He focuses on actions being morally right or wrong. When something is morally right, that is what we should do. Morally wrong things we should refrain from. Johnson uses religion as an attempt answer this. The example of Plato’s divine command theory, that the Bible tells us what is morally right and wrong. This is discussed in two ways. The first that “God commands something because it is moral.” and the second is that “Something is moral because God commands it.” Johnson explains that the first option tells us that there are morally right things, so God tells us to do those things. God did nothing to make those actions the correct ones, thus meaning there is a reason for these actions to be right and God is …show more content…

Immanuel Kant developed this theory and it was known as the categorical imperative. There were four versions of this. The first was “act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” With this maxim rule, you have to identify the rule you will follow if you performed a specific action. The next part is to decide if you had the power to make it a law, could you do it reasonably? Ultimately, Kant thought our ability to reason dictated morality. Johnson also talked about rights. He discusses our legal rights and natural rights. Legal rights are clear and known. Natural rights are not as clear. He explains that most of the time when deciding what is right or wrong, it is usually human (natural) rights that are being used. Rights can always be taken away or at the very least infringed upon.
Ultimately, Johnson concludes with stating that there is no way to decide which is a better theory and in all actuality, it only complicates things. If anything, the theories gave an insight to why things are morally right and wrong in certain

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of A Compensatory Response To The Problem Of Evil Beaty

    921 Words  | 4 Pages

    He argues that if God is perfectly moral, then he must always act in accordance with the moral law, even if this means causing suffering. However, if God is perfectly loving, then he must always act in the best interests of his creation, even if this means breaking the moral law. Rutledge concludes that we must choose between a God who is perfectly moral and a God who is perfectly loving. Rutledge's argument is thought-provoking and challenging. He raises important questions about the nature of God and the relationship between morality and love.

    Read More

  • Essay On Evil And Omnipotence By J. L. Mackie

    826 Words  | 4 Pages

    In moral evil, the first type, he mentions that he believes in the free-will defense. The free-will defense as he states is having a “free and responsible choice, but that, if they do, then necessarily there will be the natural possibility of moral evil”. To illustrate what it is, perhaps a man finds a wallet with money and has a choice of returning the wallet of money, keeping it, or keeping the money and returning the wallet. Showcasing that humans have a range of choices they can make and with those choices, evil can occur. However, it brings the question of how God becomes involved with the free-will defense.

    Read More

  • Compare Plato's Euthyphro Dilemma

    1152 Words  | 5 Pages

    In order to examine the problems this claim is followed by, first we must assess exactly what the statement means. The specific problems that arise from claiming it to be true and different depending on whether you say it because you believe that God commanding the actions make them good, or whether God would only command actions which are good absent from his will. These two different option form the basis for Plato’s Euthyphro Dilemma in which Socrates asks Euthyphro that very question: ‘Is what is holy holy because the gods approve of it, or do they approve it because it is holy?’ , with the former being known as the Divine Command Theory.

    Read More

  • Socrates And Euthyphro's Argument Analysis

    893 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is so because it becomes difficult to know whether moral goodness is independent of the will of God or if it is as a result of His will. The Euthyphro dilemma offers two intensely differing sides. On one side of the argument, theorists are of the opinion that morality is whatever God wills. This position then brings into question the goodness of God’s will if His command vindicates what is wrong. Arguing that goodness is the determined by God shows that what is rights is so because God wills it to be right.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Tragic Hero's Story '

    592 Words  | 3 Pages

    God mustn’t tell us to do something irrational to society that can be labeled “evil to us, for he is above all and morally perfect. However for us human beings, we need to follow something that IS powerful than us and can lead us to something great at the end. Thus, we question when do we ignore something that is not considered ethical. Hegal wants to prove that he Abraham can be the “tragic hero” of the story, but he can still make rational decisions by his own and not by his “God” he follows. 2.

    Read More

  • The Divine Command Theories

    1134 Words  | 5 Pages

    Any given answer that can be given by the divine command theorist seems to suppose the existence of at least one norm outside of God 's commanded will. In the textbook, Darwall provides, and then refutes, the following possible answers. 1) We should do what God commands because God is omniscient and omnibenevolent and he is aware of what we should do given any particular situation. This answer, however, leads to the conclusion that the best thing to do in the particular situation already exists, independent of whether or not God commands us to do it, the fact that God commands us to do it simply makes it the case that God chooses to share this knowledge of the best thing to do in a situation with humans.

    Read More

  • Swinburne Vs Swineburne

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Therefore, the omnipotence of God’s authority is complete, and human beings must live with the circumstances of inequality by being able to choose evil over good. In a religious context, Swinburne has gathered much of “reasoning” from the Bible and other religious texts, which assume the existence of God through the moral tenets of “good” and “evil” as a criterion for God’s omnipotence and the free will that was given to human beings. Swinburne believes that there is a reason for all human choices, which has been defined by the moral authority of God in this interpretation of

    Read More

  • Judeo-Christian Argument Analysis

    918 Words  | 4 Pages

    The foundation of Judeo-Christian beliefs is the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. This belief is held in absolutes, even in the face of evil and tragedy. Those outside of religion see these beliefs as contradicting, arguing that God cannot be all-good and all-powerful while at the same time allowing evil to occur. The “argument from evil”, often used by those who are agnostic or atheist, are a set of premises that have stumped theists in the argument for an all-good and all-powerful God in the presence of evil (Pojman 117). However, the belief of an all-good and all-powerful God can be defended by considering what the meaning of the word “good” is in the first place and how it relates to God’s influence on humanity.

    Read More

  • Evaluating Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

    1495 Words  | 6 Pages

    He describes the objection as, “all men desire the apparent good, but have no control over the appearance, but the end appears to each man in a form answering to his character” (1114b).   This view argues that all people pursue that which seems good, but some people cannot see the true good, which is out of their control.   The immediate implication of this objection, if it is indeed true, suggests that “no one is responsible for his own evildoing” (1114b).

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Divine Command Theory

    1444 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Divine Command Theory The Divine Command Theory is an ethical theory that states that God decides what is morally right and what is morally wrong. The theory argues that to be morally good one must do what God says and abstain from doing what God forbids. The question that is going to be discussed in this essay is if The Divine Command Theory provides an acceptable account of what makes an action morally right and others morally wrong.

    Read More

  • Essay On Divine Command Theory

    1218 Words  | 5 Pages

    The divine command theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s duty defined morality, natural law theory, and Aristotle’s virtue ethics are the five types of ethical theories. The divine command theory states that what is morally right and wrong will be decided by God. Utilitarianism states that “Action “A” is morally right if and only if it produces the greatest amount of overall happiness. Kant’s duty defined morality states that what is important is acting for the sake of producing good consequences, no matter what the act is. Natural law theory states that people should focus on the good and avoid any evil.

    Read More

  • Vuletic's Article On Morality Independent Of Religion

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    An example that they used to prove why this is stating why we should not follow the Divine Command Theory using child abuse as an example. The Divine Command Theory is, “Actions that God commands us to do are morally required; actions that God forbids us to do are morally wrong; and all other actions are morally neutral” (page 51). God could make it so child abuse is right. If God said it, then it is true. We all know child abuse is not okay, but if religion and morality are not separate, we would have to obey by whatever God said is

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Kant's Categorical Imperative

    1222 Words  | 5 Pages

    I hope to convince the reader that Kant’s Categorical Imperative is the better way to live a morally conscious life and more practical to follow as well. First I will briefly describe both Kant’s and Mill’s principles. Then I will go on to explain the advantages and disadvantages of both. Finally, I hope to provide a counterargument for some of Kant’s Categorical Imperatives downfalls. Kant states the Categorical Imperative as: "Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will and general natural law."

    Read More

  • Hutcheson's Moral Sense

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    The point is that moral approvals and disapprovals done by our moral sense are specific in nature and only operate when there is an action that can be appropriately judged of by our moral sense. Reasoning and information can change the evaluation of the moral sense, but no amount of reasoning can or does precede the moral sense in regard to its approval of what is for the public good. The moral sense approves of the good for others. This concern for others by the moral sense is what is natural to humankind, Hutcheson contended. Reason gives content to the moral sense, informing it of what is good for others and the public good

    Read More

  • Ethics: The Importance Of Ethics In Our Society

    1024 Words  | 5 Pages

    As children, we were taught by our parents that it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal. As we grow up and enter into the real world with some knowledge of right and wrong, we see, first hand, the importance of ethics as well as its complexity. The role of ethics in our society and in an individual’s life is very necessary because it has a large influence on today, as well as the future. We need to learn about good ethics because they guide our decisions, make us who we are, and determine our future.

    Read More

More about What Is Ethics Anyway Analysis

Open Document